2025 “Pre-Registration” Card Design Contest FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Who can enter this contest?

All San Francisco High School students, 9th – 12th grade, are eligible to enter this contest, including private school, public school, and home-schooled students. Every entrant will need to confirm their eligibility with their submission.

2. What is the contest schedule?

• Submission Period – September 29, 2025, to October 29, 2025 (New extended deadline)
• Review/Selection Period – October 30, 2025, to November 2, 2025
• Winner Announcement – November 3, 2025

3. Any prize for the winning design?

Yes. We will award a non-cash prize to the winning designer. (Maximum value $99)

4. How can I submit my design?

Submissions will be accepted via email or in-person at City Hall, Room 48.

For email submissions, email your design as a PDF or JPEG attachment to hsp@sfgov.org.

For in-person submissions, submit your design to the Elections Office, City Hall, Room 48, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place. The Elections Office is open Monday – Friday, 8am -5pm.

Be sure to include your name, grade, current high school, and phone number with your submission.

The Department is not responsible for incomplete, late, lost, delayed, damaged, misdirected, incomplete, void, corrupted, garbled, illegible, or unintelligible submissions. Such submissions will be void and not reviewed.

All submissions must be received by midnight on October 29, 2025.

5. What are the design rules/guidelines for the contest?

All design submissions must follow these guidelines:

• Must include the word “Pre-Registration” or “Pre-Register”
• Must include the words “16- and 17-year-olds”
• Must be unique and relate to San Francisco
• The file dimensions should be 4 x 6 inches, with a resolution of 300 DPI
• Must be original artwork (no stock photos, no borrowed or AI-generated images)
• Must be politically neutral (cannot refer to any political parties, campaigns, or issues)
• Must not include copyrighted, trademarked, or branded materials
• Must not include obscene, violent, or defamatory images or words
• Must not include any dates or years
• All designs must be in English

6. What does the current “Pre-Registration” card look like? Click here

NOTE: The design contest is only for the front image of the card. The information on the back of the Pre-Registration card will remain the same.

7. Can I submit more than 1 design?

Yes, you may submit as many designs as you would like.

8. Do I need to hand-draw my design?

No. Designs may also be created digitally using graphic design software such as InDesign, Illustrator, or Photoshop (digitally created submissions must be vector files or high-resolution JPEG images).

9. Will I get my artwork back after I submit it to the Department of Elections?

No. Due to the large number of submissions we expect to receive, we will not return artwork. All artwork submitted for this contest will become the property of the Department of Elections.

10. Who selects the winning design?

Department of Elections staff will review all submissions and select the winning design.

11. When will the winner be announced?

Department staff will announce the winning design on Monday, November 3, 2025. Click here starting on November 3, 2025, to view the winning artist and design!

12. Any other terms and conditions?

LICENSE

By submitting a Pre-Registration Card design to the Department, you hereby provide an exclusive, irrevocable, perpetual, and worldwide license to the Department to use, copy, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works, and display or publish your Pre-Registration Card design in any and all media now known or hereafter devised throughout the world, for any purpose whatsoever, including, but not limited to, marketing and promotional purposes without any additional compensation.

The Department reserves the right to use any Contest participant’s Pre-Registration Card design, in whole or in part, including any modifications or amendments thereto. Submission of a Pre-Registration Card design in the Contest does not obligate the Department to use such design. If the Department’s use of the Pre-Registration Card design creates trademark, service mark or trade dress rights, City shall have an exclusive and irrevocable right in such trademark, service mark, or trade dress.