NOTICE OF INTENTION TO CIRCULATE INITIATIVE PETITION Notice is hereby given by the person whose name appears hereon of their intention to circulate a petition within the City and County of San Francisco for the purpose of placing on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot a measure to reform how measures are placed on the ballot in San Francisco. A statement of the reasons of the proposed action as contemplated in the petition is as follows: The proposed measure reforms how measures are placed on the ballot in San Francisco to better align with the standards in other California cities. San Francisco's ballot qualification rules are far looser than those of any other major California city. The result is bloated and confusing ballots. In November 2024, voters faced 15 separate measures, compared to one in San Jose and three in Oakland. Over the past 30 years, 74 percent of ordinances on the ballot were placed before voters by a minority of supervisors, the Mayor, or through signature drives rather than through a transparent and accountable legislative process. 44 percent did not legally require voter approval. San Francisco is the only major city that allows a minority of supervisors to place measures directly on the ballot. It also has by far the lowest signature threshold in California—just 2 percent of registered voters. Additionally, it is the only city that allows the mayor to unliterally place measures on the ballot. Together, the status quo incentivizes special interests and politicians to weaponize the system against each other. Measures are often filled with complicated legal jargon meant to confuse voters. So-called poison pill ballot measures are more and more common, and measures can mislead voters or lead to unintended consequences. In 2022, for example, a ballot measure intended to tax Amazon was later discovered to unintentionally tax hundreds of small businesses and could only be removed through court action, despite conflicting with the drafters' intentions. The proposed measure aligns San Francisco more closely with other California cities while preserving voters' ability to participate directly in lawmaking. These commonsense reforms encourage coalition-building, deliberation, and higher-quality measures for voters to consider while reducing confusion and unintended consequences. _/s/________________ Daniel Lurie Proponent of the Initiative The city attorney has prepared the following title and summary of the chief purpose and points of the proposed measure: CHANGES TO BALLOT MEASURE PROCESS The Way It Is Now Under the City Charter, an ordinance or declaration of policy (measure) may be placed on the ballot in several ways, including: • By a six-member majority vote of the Board of Supervisors (Board); • By four or more members of the Board submitting the measure without a vote of the Board; • By the Mayor submitting the measure without a vote of the Board; or • By registered voters submitting an initiative petition to the Department of Elections (signature initiative) containing signatures of at least 2% of the registered voters in San Francisco, which currently is approximately 10,600 signatures. A signature initiative generally appears on the ballot at the next regularly scheduled municipal or statewide election. Signature initiatives that propose an ordinance may call for an earlier election, known as a special election, if the petition contains signatures of voters equal in number to at least 10% of the votes cast for all candidates for Mayor in the last mayoral election. The threshold for a signature initiative to call a special election currently is approximately 39,000 signatures. Once a signature initiative is submitted to the Department of Elections, it cannot be withdrawn. The Proposal The proposal would amend the Charter to eliminate the ability of the Mayor or four or more members of the Board to place a measure on the ballot without a vote of the Board. The Board could still place measures on the ballot by a six-member majority vote. The proposal would change the way the voters may place a signature initiative on the ballot by increasing the required number of voter signatures to 8% of the registered voters in San Francisco, or approximately 42,500 signatures. The proposed measure would also increase the required number of voter signatures to call a special election on an initiative ordinance to 10% of the registered voters in San Francisco (instead of 10% of votes cast for all candidates for Mayor in the last mayoral election), or approximately 53,100 signatures. The proposal would allow the proponents of a signature initiative to withdraw the signature initiative from the ballot up to 102 days before the election.