City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: June 9, 2026
Agenda Item: 4.B
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Denise Anderson Warren, Interim City Clerk, Records and Election Services Department
Subject: Adoption of Resolutions Calling the General Municipal Election to be held on November 3, 2026 and Requesting that the Municipal Election Be Consolidated with the Los Angeles County Statewide General Election Recommended Action
Staff recommends that City Council adopt:
1. A finding that the recommended actions herein do not constitute a project subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA);
2. A resolution calling for a General Municipal Election to be held on November 3, 2026; and
3. A resolution requesting that the Municipal Election be consolidated with the Los Angeles (LA) County Statewide General Election and request services from the LA County Registrar-Recorder for the General Municipal Election.
Executive Summary
Santa Monica’s next General Municipal Election will be held on November 3, 2026. In preparation for this election, staff asks Council to adopt two resolutions. The first resolution calls for the election to be held, and the second authorizes and requests that the election be consolidated with the LA County General Election and requests County election services.
Discussion
Section 1400 of the City Charter provides that General Municipal Elections for the filling of elective offices shall be held on the first Tuesday following the first Monday of November of each even numbered year. The City of Santa Monica has been consolidating municipal elections and obtaining services from the LA County Registrar- 2 of 4
Recorder/County Clerk since the mid 1980’s. As a result, it is necessary to adopt resolutions calling the election and requesting consolidation with the Statewide General election and election services from the LA County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk.
The first resolution (Attachment A) calls for the General Election and gives notice that three City Council seats, three Rent Control Board seats, four Santa Monica-Malibu School District Board of Education seats, and four Santa Monica Community College District Board of Trustees seats for full term are to be filled at the November 3, 2026, General Municipal Election. For the Santa Monica Community College District Board of Trustees, there is one seat with the partial term, the seat was vacated by the election of former Member Barry Snell to the City Council. As provided for in Section 903 of the Board of Education (Article IX, Santa Monica City Charter), the Board appointed Member Dr. Luis Barrera Castanon to the vacancy with a term ending on November 3, 2026. As the appointee, Member Castanon was to hold the office until the next regular election and until a successor is elected.
At this time, the Rent Control Board is considering placing one a measure on the ballot and will submit to Council at a later meeting. If City staff propose measures for the ballot, they will also return at a later meeting.
At the time this report was written, no initiatives have qualified to be placed on the ballot. However, the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Parcel Tax initiative was filed with the Santa Monica City Clerk’s Office and LA County is verifying signatures to determine if it qualified to be placed on the ballot. Should the initiative qualify, staff will return with a staff report and resolution at the next available regular meeting. All resolutions for initiatives and City-sponsored ballot measures must be submitted to the County by August 7, 2026.
The second resolution (Attachment B) requests that the LA County Board of Supervisors approve the consolidation of the City’s General Municipal Election with the statewide General Election to be held on the same date, and that the statewide General Election and General Municipal Election be held in all respects as if there were one 3 of 4
election. The resolution also requests that the LA County Board of Supervisors direct the LA County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk to provide all necessary election services, to the extent determined necessary by the Santa Monica City Clerk/Elections Official, to prepare, print, translate, and mail sample ballots and polling place information to the registered voters of the City.
City Clerk staff will host a Candidate Workshop on the first day of the Nomination Period, Monday, July 13 in City Hall Council Chambers. The notice of the election will be published in the local newspapers and mailed to neighborhood groups. All election information will be available on www.santamonica.gov, and the election will be promoted in SaMoNews, the City’s social media sites and the local newspapers. The office will co-host a virtual Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) workshop for Candidates/Treasurers on Wednesday, August 26 at 5:30 p.m.. Additionally, voter registration outreach efforts will be scheduled including the State of the City, September 15, 2026 National Voter Registration Day, and prior to the October 19, 2026, voter registration deadline. As with the Statewide Direct Primary Election, the City’s five VoteBy-Mail Drop Boxes located at the Main Library, Montana Library, Virginia Avenue Park, Marine Park, and Ocean View Park will also be available for the election.
Environmental Review
The proposed election resolutions are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) (Common Sense Exemption) of the CEQA Guidelines, which states that CEQA does not apply, where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment. The resolutions are formal requests for election services from the LA County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk and would not result in physical effects, and therefore, is exempt from CEQA.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Funding for election costs is included in the FY 2026-27 Proposed Budget, pending Council budget adoption at the June 23, 2026, meeting. Also included in the proposed budget is the reimbursement revenue for election costs related to non-City agencies 4 of 4
such as the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District and Santa Monica Community College.
Prepared By: Priscilla Bouvet, Administrative Analyst
Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Attachment A - Resolution-Calling 2026 Election
B. Attachment B - Resolution-Consolidating 2026 Election