Sunset District voters may begin to vote on August 18 to decide if Supervisor Engardio will be recalled

SAN FRANCISCO — The recall election to remove District 4 (D4) Supervisor Joel Engardio will be held on September 16. Voters in D4 may begin to vote on the recall starting August 18 by mail, early voting at City Hall, or dropping off ballots at three locations.

The San Francisco Department of Elections has announced more details of the upcoming Recall Election on September 16. Residents of D4 are advised to register to vote by September 2 to ensure they would receive their ballots in the mail for the Recall Election.

Residents of D4 can register as voters online by visiting the California Secretary of State website, https://registertovote.ca.gov/, in person at the San Francisco Department of Elections in City Hall (Room 48), or requesting and submitting a voter registration form by mail.

After the September 2 deadline, eligible residents can still register and vote in person at the San Francisco Department of Elections, or at a polling place on election day for the D4 Recall Election.

D4 residents and voters can go to the website of the San Francisco Department of Elections to check the status and updates of their voters' records at https://sfelections.org/tools/portal/.

Registered D4 voters will automatically receive a vote-by-mail ballot, a Voter Information Pamphlet, and Sample Ballot around August 18, 2025, the San Francisco Department of Elections said. 

Once voters receive their ballots in the mail, they may fill out the ballots and return completed ballots in the mail; at any of the three official drop boxes, located at the Ortega Branch Library, 3223 Ortega Street, the Parkside Branch Library, 1200 Taraval Street, and City Hall; at any of the 20 polling places on Recall Election Day; or at the Department of Elections on any day prior to 8pm on September 16.

The recall will appear on the ballot as a measure. Voters will be asked whether the current D 4 Supervisor Engardio should be removed from office before the end of his four-year term which is January 7, 2027.

Engardio was elected in the November 2022 election as D4 Supervisor representing Outer Sunset and Parkside neighborhoods.

Engardio introduced Proposition K to the Board of Supervisors in June 2024 as a ballot measure for the November 2024 election.

Prop. K was proposed to close the 2-mile Upper Great Highway to private vehicles and transform it into a coastal park. The measure was passed by voters citywide, but D4 voters overwhelmingly opposed it.

Opponents of Prop. K were able to collect enough signatures to put the recall measure on the ballot to remove Engardio from office.

"When Joel Engardio campaigned to be our Supervisor, he promised to keep the Great Highway compromise in place and to make our district safer. He even put his promise in writing. Then last fall, without talking to the majority of his constituents, Joel Engardio placed Proposition K on the ballot to close the Great Highway permanently to vehicles," the petitioners of the recall Engardio campaign wrote.

"Many Sunset residents are telling me they do not support a recall — and they include voters who don’t agree with every policy position I’ve taken," Engardio posted his comment on the website against the recall. "They say the entirety of my work — not just one issue — is what matters. They like how I focus on public safety, fight for education, champion small businesses, and support creating the housing that families need to stay in San Francisco."

According to the Elections Office, recall petitioners submitted 10,523 valid signatures from registered D4 voters on May 22, 2205 that were more than the required 9,911 valid signatures, which are 20% of the district’s registered voters, to qualify for a recall election.

The latest numbers show that D4 has a total of 50,289 registered voters. If more D4 voters select “No” on the ballots, Engardio will remain in office. If “Yes” receives more votes, Engardio will be removed from office, and Mayor Daniel Lurie will appoint a replacement to serve as D4 Supervisor until the next scheduled election in June 2026.

The D4 Supervisor seat will appear on the June 2026 ballot to fill the remainder of the current term and again on the November 2026 ballot for a new 4-year full term from January 2027 to January 2031.