Outreach Community Newsletter: February 2025

Building Voter Awareness in 2025

While no elections are currently scheduled this year, our outreach efforts remain active as we continue strengthening community partnerships and expanding voter education about election services and programs. In 2025, our priorities include:

1. Voter Registration – Helping residents register and keep their records up to date.
2. Language Access – Expanding awareness of translated election materials.
3. “Go Green” Initiative – Encouraging voters to opt out of mailed Voter Information Pamphlets and instead access them online.
4. Accessible Voting – Promoting accessible resources and services.
5. Youth Engagement – Partnering with schools to educate and pre-register future voters.

To advance these priorities, we’ve developed several recorded presentations in English, Chinese, Filipino, and Spanish, available at sfelections.gov/voteroutreach. Feel free to share them at your community events! Our Outreach Team is also available for in-person presentations—just invite us, and we’ll be happy to participate.

As a valued community partner, you can help promote these priorities in various ways, including co-hosting voter registration drives, helping distribute outreach materials, and amplifying election services and programs through your newsletter, social media, and community network. Additionally, adding a link to our website—sfelections.gov—on your organization’s site can help establish us as a trusted source of election information for your constituents.

If you’re interested in partnering with us in any of these ways or exploring other collaboration opportunities, we’d love to hear from you! Please feel free to reach out at sfoutreach@sfgov.org or call us at (415) 264-9445.

Election Topic Spotlight: San Franciscans Can Vote in Their Preferred Language

Last month, we highlighted the importance of keeping voter registration up to date. This month, we’re focusing on how local voters can cast their ballots in their preferred language.

We provide ballots and voter information pamphlets in English, Chinese, Spanish, and Filipino, with Vietnamese joining the list in 2026. Additionally, we offer reference ballots in Korean, Japanese, Thai, and Burmese that voters can use to review ballot content in their language before marking their official ballot.

To ensure these translated materials reach those who need them, it is essential for voters to submit their language preferences at sfelections.gov/voterportal or by calling us at (415) 554-4375.

If your organization serves communities that could benefit from multilingual election materials, please help us spread the word about how voters can update their language preferences with the Department of Elections.

Insights from Our Language Accessibility Advisory Committee (LAAC)

We recently held our first Language Accessibility Advisory Committee (LAAC) meeting of 2025! We reflected on the successes and lessons from our November 2024 outreach campaign and reviewed key updates to the Language Access Ordinance—including the planned implementation of Vietnamese in election materials and services by 2026. We also reviewed our 2025 outreach projects and held community discussion sessions to solicit feedback on strategies to enhance voter engagement.

We are grateful for the valuable input from our longtime partners and excited to welcome new voices to the conversation.

If you're interested in improving access to voting and election materials for limited English proficient (LEP) community members, we invite you to join the LAAC at sfelections.org/laacform!

Meet Our Longstanding Outreach Partner and LAAC Member

Crystal Van, Civic Engagement Program Manager at Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA), has been one of the key partners in the Department of Elections’ outreach efforts.

Under her leadership, CAA collaborated with the Department last year to educate non citizen residents eligible to vote in local School Board elections, ensuring they understood their rights, the election process, and had access to in-language resources.

As a member of the Department’s Language Accessibility Advisory Committee, Crystal continues to provide valuable guidance on language access and voter outreach. We appreciate her dedication and look forward to continued collaboration.

Did You Know?

In the November 2024 election, San Francisco recorded the highest number of registered voters in its history - 522,265! Of these, 412,231 participated in the election, resulting in a voter turnout of nearly 79%.

We invite you to help keep up the momentum—every action counts, whether it’s registering a friend, sharing election resources, or spreading the word about the importance of participation in local elections.

If you’d like to make voter registration forms available at your facility, contact us, and we’ll be happy to provide them in the languages you need. You can also direct potential registrants to register online at registertovote.ca.gov.

Where We Have Been in the Community This Month

We’ve been on the move, connecting with communities across the city! From providing voter education to facilitating voter registration, our Outreach Team is committed to keeping residents informed. Here are some highlights from our recent events!

Until Next Month

That’s a wrap on this month’s edition of the Outreach Community Newsletter! If there are specific topics you’d like us to cover in future editions, we’d love to hear your suggestions!

We look forward to connecting with you again next month!

Warmly,
Your Outreach Team: Nataliya, Anmarie, Adriana, Tiff, Max, and Edgar