Palo Alto voters have until Monday, Oct. 19 to register for a regular ballot ahead of the Nov. 3 municipal election. Three City Council seats and Measure J, a half-cent sales tax projected to raise $15.6 million a year, are on the ballot.
Mail ballots go out to all registered Santa Clara County voters starting Monday, Oct. 5. No postage is required.
City Clerk Mahealani Ah Yun published the details in an election guide on Tuesday, Sept. 15, timed to National Voter Registration Day.
What's on the ballot
Three at-large Council seats are up for four-year terms. Also on the ballot is Measure J, which the Council placed before voters by unanimous vote on June 8.
Measure J would add a 0.5% sales tax, bringing Palo Alto's total rate to 10.25%. City Attorney Christopher D. Jensen's impartial analysis calls it a general tax. That means proceeds go into the general fund and can legally be spent on any city purpose. If approved, the tax takes effect in April 2027.
The Council also passed advisory spending guidelines, Resolution No. 10296. The resolution states the Council's intention to buy seven acres of the Cubberley Community Center campus at 4000 Middlefield Road from the Palo Alto Unified School District and modernize the facility, which the ballot measure describes as needing safety and earthquake upgrades.
The city already owns eight acres of the 35-acre site. The negotiated purchase price is $65.5 million.
The school board unanimously approved a spending plan for those sale proceeds in late August, Palo Alto Online reported. Under that plan, 67% ($43.9 million) would go to school maintenance, 28% ($18.3 million) to facility modernization and 5% ($3.3 million) to contingency.
PAUSD Board President Shounak Dharap, who sat on the committee that negotiated the land deal, said at the August board meeting he hoped "the community sees fit to go forward and breathe new life into Cubberley," according to Palo Alto Online.
Opponents, including former Mayor Lydia Kou and Mark Hinkle of the Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association, argue the measure hands City Hall a blank check with no legal requirement to spend the revenue on Cubberley.
Proponents, including Julie Lythcott-Haims and Palo Alto Educators Association President Tom Culbertson, counter that all funds stay local and that non-resident shoppers would pay roughly 40% of the tax.
How and where to vote
Six vote centers will operate in Palo Alto:
- Palo Alto Art Center Auditorium, 1313 Newell Rd.
- Ventura Community Center, 3990 Ventura Ct.
- Palo Alto Lawn Bowls Club, 474 Embarcadero Rd.
- Mitchell Park Community Center, 3700 Middlefield Rd.
- Palo Alto Buddhist Temple, 2751 Louis Rd.
- Palo Alto Elks Lodge, 4249 El Camino Real
The Art Center and Ventura open Saturday, Oct. 24. The other four open Saturday, Oct. 31. All six are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily through Monday, Nov. 2, and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Five 24/7 ballot drop boxes open Tuesday, Oct. 6 at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.), Palo Alto High School (50 Embarcadero Rd.), Mitchell Park Library (3700 Middlefield Rd.), Rinconada Library (1213 Newell Rd.) and Stanford Hospital (300 Pasteur Dr.). Drop boxes close at 8 p.m. on Nov. 3.
Voters who miss the Oct. 19 deadline can still register conditionally at any vote center through Election Day. Replacement mail ballots can be requested through Tuesday, Oct. 27.
The Registrar of Voters is scheduled to certify results on Thursday, Dec. 3.
