As summer approaches, San Francisco is preparing for a season filled with events that celebrate the city’s culture, communities, and spirit of connection. From neighborhood festivals and park gatherings to parades and large-scale city celebrations, these events offer meaningful opportunities to come together and promote civic participation. Whether you're attending as a participant, a volunteer, or simply enjoying the festivities, we hope you’ll join the Department of Elections in encouraging voter registration and engagement in the electoral process.
In this edition, we’re excited to share highlights from our spring outreach activities, celebrate the inspiring efforts of our High School Elections Ambassadors, spotlight the Voter Portal and upcoming Voting Accessibility Advisory Committee meeting, and feature one of our longstanding community partners.
We hope you find this month’s newsletter a helpful and inspiring read.
High School Elections Ambassadors Make an Impact!
We recently wrapped up the Spring 2025 High School Elections Ambassador Program—and what an inspiring season it was! This year, 37 student ambassadors from 12 public and private high schools stepped up to champion civic engagement in their school communities.
From organizing voter education events and hosting resource tables to making announcements over school PA systems and delivering presentations at assemblies, these ambassadors led more than 90 outreach activities, all designed to inform and empower their peers. Their efforts led to the pre-registration of over 150 future voters and helped raise awareness about opportunities like serving as student poll workers.
To celebrate their accomplishments, we hosted a ceremony on May 12 to honor these outstanding young leaders. We also extend our sincere thanks to the teachers and administrators who continue to support youth engagement programs like this one.
Spring 2025 Elections Ambassador Program Ceremony
Join the Effort to Make Elections More Accessible
The Department of Elections is currently preparing for the second Voting Accessibility Advisory Committee (VAAC) meeting of the year, scheduled for June 5 at 12:30pm-2pm Chaired by Department Director John Arntz, the VAAC plays a key role in ensuring that San Francisco elections remain accessible, inclusive, and equitable for all.
Under Director Arntz’s leadership, the Department has long been at the forefront of providing voting options that allow individuals to cast their ballots privately and independently, supported by a wide range of services, tools, and materials tailored to the needs of local voters. The Department also works closely with community leaders to continuously improve access.
The VAAC brings those leaders together and offers a valuable space for sharing ideas, providing feedback, and advancing efforts to ensure every voter has the information and support needed to fully participate in the electoral process.
Sign up to become a VAAC member at https://sfelections.gov/tools/forms/vaac.html and be part of the ongoing effort to make elections more inclusive for all San Franciscans.
Election Topic Spotlight: Online Voter Portal
The Department of Elections offers the Voter Portal—a one-stop online hub designed to make it easier for voters to access personalized election information and prepare for upcoming elections. Available at sfelections.gov/VoterPortal and featured on the Department’s homepage, the Portal brings together essential tools and resources in one convenient place.
Through the Portal, voters can update registration details, track vote-by-mail ballots, find assigned polling places, view sample ballots, check voting districts and elected officials, and manage delivery and language preferences for election materials. The Portal is currently available in English, Chinese, Spanish, and Filipino, with Vietnamese to be added later this year ahead of its designation as an official language of the City in 2026.
To support this transition, the Portal now features a message for voters born in Vietnam who have not yet selected Vietnamese as their preferred language. The message encourages these voters to update their language preference to ensure they receive Vietnamese-language election materials beginning with the 2026 elections.
We encourage our community partners to link to the Voter Portal on their websites and promote it in outreach efforts.
Meet Our Longstanding Outreach Partner
In this edition, we continue to highlight our longstanding outreach partners who work alongside the Department to educate and engage San Francisco’s communities. Meet Kirstie Dutton, Program Manager at the Asian Pacific American Community Center (APACC). For many years, APACC has partnered with the Department of Elections to reach monolingual Chinese, Filipino, and Vietnamese-speaking residents, provide accessible voter education, and empower immigrant communities to participate in elections and make their voices heard. We look forward to continuing our outreach partnership with Kirstie to bring vital election information to residents of the Visitacion Valley and Sunnydale neighborhoods.
Civic Challenge: Spread the Word!
This month, we invite our community partners and readers to take on a simple yet powerful challenge: talk to five people about registering to vote and participating in local elections. With this newsletter reaching over 200 outreach partners, that’s the potential for more than 1,000 meaningful conversations across San Francisco.
Whether it’s a friend, coworker, neighbor, or someone you met at a community event—every conversation helps build a more informed and engaged electorate.
Have a story to share about how it went? We’d love to hear it! Send a short reflection or testimonial to sfoutreach@sfgov.org, and we may feature it in a future edition of this newsletter.
Where We Have Been This Month
This month, our Outreach Team participated in a variety of community events across San Francisco, meeting residents where they are. We facilitated voter registration, shared information about election services and voter resources, and encouraged participation in local elections. These gatherings remain a meaningful way for us to connect with the people of our beloved City. Take a look at some highlights from our recent events!
SFUSD 2025 Summer Literacy Fair
Shared information on youth civic engagement programs with students
APACC AAPI Heritage Month Celebration
Promoted language accessible services and programs to voters
APRI Spring/Summer Job Fair
Provided information on job and poll worker service opportunities to residents
Until Next Month
That’s a wrap for this edition of the Outreach Community Newsletter. We’ll return next month with more updates, highlights, and helpful resources. Until then, thank you for all you do to support civic life in San Francisco!
Warmly,
Your Outreach Team: Nataliya, Anmarie, Adriana, Tiff, Max, and Edgar