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6/16/2026
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Council Agenda: 06-23-2026
Item No.: 3.3
DRAFT--Contact the Office of the City Clerk at (408)535-1260 or [email protected] for final document.
REVISED – Administrative changes made since original posting on 6/12/2026.
RESOLUTION NO. ______________
A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN
JOSE CALLING AND GIVING NOTICE, ON ITS OWN
MOTION, FOR A SPECIAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION TO BE
CONSOLIDATED WITH THE NEXT GENERAL ELECTION
ON NOVEMBER 3, 2026, TH E SUBMISSION TO THE
ELECTORS OF THE CITY OF SAN JOSE A BALLOT
MEASURE PROPOSAL TO AMEND THE SAN JOSE CITY
CHARTER TO ALLOW THE CI TY COUNCIL THE OPTION
TO UTILIZE RANKED CHOICE VOTING ONLY IN AN
ELECTION TO FILL A VACANCY IN THE OFFICE OF THE
MAYOR OR COUNCIL MEMBER
WHEREAS, San José City Charter Sections 1600 and 1601 authorize the City Council to set the date for a Special Municipal Election; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to California Elections Code Sections 9255(b)(1) and 1415(a)(2)(A) and Government Code Section 34458(a), the Cit y Council desires to submit to the electors of the City of San José (the “City” or alternatively, “San José”) at a Special Municipal Election a ballot measure proposal to amend the San José City Charter to allow the City Council the option to utilize Ranked Ch oice Voting only in an election to fill a vacancy in the office of the Mayor or Counc il Member, and to place the measure on the ballot for the next General Election on November 3, 2026, a Statewide General Election;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN JOSE THAT:
SECTION 1. A Special Municipal Election is hereby called and ordered to be held in the City of San José on Novem ber 3, 2026, to vote on a ballot measure to amend the San José City Charter to allow the City Council the option to utilize Ranked Choice Voting in an election to fill a vacancy in the office of the Mayor or Council Member, which shall SAW:MDT:JMD
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Council Agenda: 06-23-2026
Item No.: 3.3
DRAFT--Contact the Office of the City Clerk at (408)535-1260 or [email protected] for final document.
REVISED – Administrative changes made since original posting on 6/12/2026. be deemed ratified, pursuant to Government Code Section 34459, if a majority of the electors voting on the measure vote to approve the measure. The full text of the proposed City Charter amendment is attached as Exhibit A and incorporated by reference in this Resolution.
SECTION 2. The ballot measure will be plac ed on the ballot for the November 3, 2026, election in the following form:
MEASURE ___
Shall the City Charter be amended to allow the City
Council the option to utilize Ranked Choice Voting
only in an election to fill a vacancy in the office of the Mayor or Council Member?
YES
NO
SECTION 3. The City Council hereby requests the Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Clara, California to permit the Registrar of Voters of Santa Clara County to render to the City of San José such services as the City Clerk of the City of San José may request relating to the conduct of the above-described Special Municipal Election with respect to the following matters:
Coordination of election precincts, polling places, voting booths, voting systems and election officers; Printing and mailing of voter pamphlets; Preparation of tabulation of result of votes cast; and all other services necessary to conduct an election.
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Council Agenda: 06-23-2026
Item No.: 3.3
DRAFT--Contact the Office of the City Clerk at (408)535-1260 or [email protected] for final document.
REVISED – Administrative changes made since original posting on 6/12/2026.
SECTION 4. The City Council hereby requests that the Registrar of Voters of the County of Santa Clara consolidate t he Special Municipal Election called and ordered to be held on November 3, 2026, with any other election that may be held on that date.
SECTION 5. The City Council hereby authorizes the Board of Supervisors of Santa Clara County, California to canvass the returns of the Special Municipal Election.
SECTION 6. The City Council hereby directs the City Clerk to reimburse the County of Santa Clara in full for any of the above-me ntioned services which may be performed by the Registrar of Voters, upon presentation of a bill to the City, with funds already appropriated to the City Clerk for election purposes.
SECTION 7. The City Council hereby directs the City Clerk to take all actions necessary to facilitate the Special Municipal Election in the time frame specified herein and comply with provisions of the Elections Code of the State of California, City Charter, Ordinances, Resolutions and Policies regarding the conduct of the Special Municipal Election.
SECTION 8. Pursuant to Section 12111 of the California Elections Code, the City Council hereby directs the City Clerk to: (a) cause a synopsis of the proposed measure to be published at least one time not later than one w eek before the election in the San José Mercury News, a newspaper of general circul ation within the City of San José; (b) consolidate the Notice of Measure to be Vot ed with the Notice of Election into a single notice; (c) cause the following statement to be printed in th e impartial analysis to be prepared by the City Attorney: “If you would like to read the full text of the measure, see [insert website URL] or call 408-535-1260 and a copy will be sent at no cost to you.”; and (d) do all other things requi red by law to submit the sp ecified measure above to the electors of the City of San José at the Spec ial Municipal Election, including causing the SAW:MDT:JMD
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Council Agenda: 06-23-2026
Item No.: 3.3
DRAFT--Contact the Office of the City Clerk at (408)535-1260 or [email protected] for final document.
REVISED – Administrative changes made since original posting on 6/12/2026. full text of the proposed measure to be made av ailable in the Office of the City Clerk at no cost and posted on the City Clerk’s website.
SECTION 9. Pursuant to Sections 9282 and 9285 of the California Elections Code, the City Council hereby approves the submittal of direct arguments for and against the ballot initiative, if any, and authorizes the City Council or any member or members of the Council to author and submit a ballot in itiative argument in support of the ballot initiative and approves the submittal of r ebuttal arguments in response to arguments for and against the ballot initiative and authorizes the City Council or any member or members of the City Council to author and submit a rebuttal, if any.
SECTION 10. The City Council hereby directs the City Clerk to transmit a copy of the measure qualifying for placement on the ballot to the City Attorn ey for preparation of an impartial analysis.
SECTION 11. The City Council hereby acknowledges that the consolidated election will be held and conducted in the manner prescribed in California Elections Code Section 10418.
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Council Agenda: 06-23-2026
Item No.: 3.3
DRAFT--Contact the Office of the City Clerk at (408)535-1260 or [email protected] for final document.
REVISED – Administrative changes made since original posting on 6/12/2026.
ADOPTED this _____ day of ___________, 2026, by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
DISQUALIFIED:
MATT MAHAN
Mayor
ATTEST:
TONI J. TABER, MMC
Cit
y Clerk
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6/16/2026
T-52322 / 2317404_3 A-1
Council Agenda: 06-23-2026
Item No.: 3.3
DRAFT--Contact the Office of the City Clerk at (408)535-1260 or [email protected] for final document.
REVISED – Administrative changes made since original posting on 6/12/2026.
EXHIBIT A TO RESOLUTION NO. RES2026-____ OF THE CITY OF SAN JOSE
That the citizens of the City of San Jose do hereby enact the following amendments to the City Charter:
Section 1. That Section 1600 of the Cit y Charter be amended to read as follows:
SECTION 1600. Municipal Elections.
All municipal elections shall be held in accordance with the following:
a) REGULAR MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS. A Regu lar Municipal Election is either a regularly scheduled Primary or Run-off Municipal Election. Such elections shall be held every two years, with the election for Mayor and for the odd numbered Council Districts being every four (4) years beginning with 1994, and the election for the even numbered Council Districts being every four (4) years beginning in 1996. Beginning in 2024, the election for Mayor and for the even numbered Council Districts will be held every four (4) years, and the election for the odd numbered Council Districts will be held every four (4) years beginning in 2026.
Each member’s term shall commence on the first day of January next following, and end on the last day of December in the fourth calendar year succeeding, the date of the member’s election, except the member elected to the office of Mayor whose term began January 1, 2023 as set forth in Section 402 of Article IV and 500 of Article V. A regularly scheduled Primary Election shall be held on the same date that the State of California holds its Direct Primary Election. A Run-off Municipal Election shall be held on the same date the State of California holds its Statewide General Election.
b) GENERAL ELECTIONS. Elections which are held simultaneously in all districts of the City, whether municipal, county or state elections are referred to as General Elections.
c) SPECIAL MUNICIPAL ELEC TIONS. Special Municipal Elections are elections scheduled pursuant to Section 1601. The dates of any Special Municipal Election shall be set by resolution.
d) RUN-OFF QUALIFICATION. The two candidat es who poll the greatest number of votes for office in the Primary Municipal Election shall be the only candidates whose names shall appear on the ballot as candidates for such office at the following Runoff Municipal Election.
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T-52322 / 2317404_3 A-2
Council Agenda: 06-23-2026
Item No.: 3.3
DRAFT--Contact the Office of the City Clerk at (408)535-1260 or [email protected] for final document.
REVISED – Administrative changes made since original posting on 6/12/2026. e) TIES. Anything elsewhere to the contrary notwithstanding, all ties in any municipal election shall be decided by lot during open meeting of the Council, under the direction of the Council.
f) DEATH OF A CANDIDATE. If a candidate dies after the filing of nomination papers for the primary election, the deceased candidate is treated as a candidate for all election purposes. If the deceased candidate is elected, the office will be declared vacant as of the beginning of the term of office for which the election was held. The position shall be filled in accordance with Section 410.
g) MAJORITY OF VOTES. No person shall be declared elected to the office of the Mayor or Council member at any municipal election unless the person receives a majority of the votes cast for such office.
h) VACANCIES. Anything else to the contra ry notwithstanding, an election to fill a vacancy in the office of Mayor or Council member called pursuant to Section 410 may be conducted utilizing ranked choice voting. A ranked choice voting election shall be conducted as follows:
1. The ballot shall allow voters to ra nk candidates in order of preference equal to the number of candidates for that office; provided however, if the voting tabulation system cannot accommodate ranking all of the candidates for that office, the elections official conducting the election may limit the number of choices to the maximum allowed by the voting tabulation system.
2. The ballot shall in no way interfere with a voter’s ability to cast a vote for a write-in candidate.
3. If a candidate receives a majority of first choice votes, that candidate shall be declared elected.
4. If no candidate receives a majority, the candidate who received the fewest first choice votes shall be eliminated and each vote cast for that candidate shall be transferred to the next ranked candidate (continuing candidate) on that voter’s ballot.
5. If the total number of votes of the two or more candidates with the lowest number of votes is less than the number of votes received by the candidate with the next highest number of votes, those candidates with the lowest number of votes shall be eliminated simultaneously and their votes transferred to the next ranked continuing candidate on each voter’s ballot.
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6/16/2026
T-52322 / 2317404_3 A-3
Council Agenda: 06-23-2026
Item No.: 3.3
DRAFT--Contact the Office of the City Clerk at (408)535-1260 or [email protected] for final document.
REVISED – Administrative changes made since original posting on 6/12/2026.
5.6. Multiple candidates may be eliminated if the combined votes for these candidates are fewer than the number of votes for the candidate currently receiving the most votes.
6.7. If, after this transfer of votes, any candidate has received a majority of the votes from the continuing ballots, that candidate shall be declared elected.
7.8. The process of eliminating candidates and transferring their votes to the next-ranked continuing candidates shall be repeated until a candidate receives a majority of the votes.
8.9. During any round to eliminate candidates, a ballot will not count if the ballot has no candidates indicated at any ranking, has more than one candidate indicated for that ranking, or no further continuing candidates are ranked on the ballot.
9.10. If a ballot reaches a ranking with no candidate indicated for that ranking, that ballot shall immediately be transferred to the next ranked continuing candidate.
10.11. If two or more candidates tie for the fewest votes, and they are not eliminated pursuant to subsection 1600(h)(5), a candidate shall be decided by lot during open meeting of the Council to proceed to the next round.
NOTE: Additions to the text are underlined and deletions are shown in strikethrough.