San Francisco

After Record Voter Turnout, San Francisco Reacts to Election Results

Democratic control of the U.S. House and the passage of homeless aid with Proposition C are among the highlights for many in SF

What to Know

  • San Francisco recorded the highest turnout in a midterm election since at least 1974
  • The 2018 midterm was also the highest turnout ever to vote at City Hall
  • Many Tenderloin residents said the election's highlight was the passage of Prop C to aid the homeless

The line was down the hall and out the door at City Hall in what San Francisco election officials said was the highest voter turnout for a midterm election since at least 1974 — and by far the largest crowd ever to vote at City Hall on Election Day.

Outside, campaign workers handed out fliers, and a few even performed an impromptu concert in support of Proposition E for arts funding. Voters dressed in stars and stripes -- with one costumed as a Suffragette -- waited patiently in line to cast their ballots.

"Because if you don't vote, you don't have a voice," said Panorea Roomel, who arrived with her daughter, wearing matching American flag dresses.

"I think it's all of our duty, it's our responsibility as a citizen, and my family for generations fought for the right to vote, so I'm exercising that right," Dwyke Phifer said after voting at City Hall.

As the ballots were counted Tuesday night, the campaign for Proposition C declared victory with 60 percent of the vote. Prop C will raise a half-percent tax on the gross receipts over $50 million per year of large companies, and earmark that money for services to aid and house the homeless, and prevent renters from winding up on the streets. The win was lauded by many we talked to in the city's Tenderloin District, where many of the city's homeless people come to seek services.

"I can have somewhere for my mail to come, have somewhere to go to the bathroom every day, take a shower every day," said Lorie Commings, who is homeless. "It'll make me feel a whole lot better about myself."

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