Checklist for your Emeryville ballot
on November 1, 2026
Midterm elections are on Tuesday. For Emeryville’s voters, there are two City Council seats, three Emery Unified School District board positions, and two area measures that will impact residents: one city measure on business licenses and one regional measure to fund Bay Area transit.
Where to vote
If you didn’t make the Oct. 19 registration deadline, you can register at the Emeryville Senior Center, 4321 Salem St. Staffed by 10 election workers, it is the only polling station in the city. It will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Monday, and from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day. Voters also may drop off ballots at Alameda County vote centers. The registrar keeps a list of polling stations a map of dropboxes.
If you are one of the 7,567 registered Emeryville voters, you may return your ballot at the dropbox in Emeryville City Hall, 1333 Park Ave., by 8 p.m. on Tuesday. If you are returning your ballot by mail, it must be postmarked by Tuesday and arrive by Nov. 10. As of Monday, 7,563 mail-in ballots had been issued in Emeryville and 892 had been returned.
The first election returns, which will include only mail ballots, will be released shortly after 8 p.m. Tuesday. The next update, with voting center ballots, will be around 9 p.m. Results — will be posted on the county’s website — are preliminary until the county elections office certifies the vote weeks later.
If you have already submitted your ballot, you can track it by registering with the state’s tracking system: WheresMyBallot.sos.ca.gov. You will receive email, text or voice notifications about your ballot.
Local races
Voters will choose two City Council candidates among the following: incumbents David Mourra and Kalimah Priforce, and challengers Brandon Soublet and Corry Friedlywicz. You will find more information in Emeryville Today’s article on the recent candidates’ forum, and you will find the candidates’ profiles on the city website.
Voters will choose three Emery Unified School District candidates among the following: incumbent Regina Chagolla and challengers Christopher Keith Allen, Brian Donahue, David Ridlehuber and Kimberly Solis. You will find more information about the candidates in Emeryville Today.
Measure BB
Emeryville is facing a projected budget deficit of more than $12 million and as a response, the City Council put a measure on the ballot to raise revenue by updating the business license tax policy.
The measure also would increase the maximum annual business tax cap from $300,000 to $800,000. The estimated $6 million raised annually would go into the city’s general fund.
A yes vote would adopt the new business licensing tax system. A no vote would maintain the current business licensing tax system. A simple majority is needed to pass.
You can read more about this measure in Emeryville Today’s article exploring the impacts of this proposal.
Regional Transit Measure
Since the start of the pandemic, public transit agencies in the Bay Area have struggled to stay afloat. A significant decrease in ridership reduced fare revenue and federal funding was needed to support AC Transit, BART and other Bay Area public transit agencies. The Public Transit Revenue Measure would raise sales tax by 0.5% in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties; and 1% in San Francisco, generating approximately $980 million for the transit companies and averting service cuts.
The revenue generated by the measure for Alameda County would be distributed to different sources, with about 65% to BART and 21% to AC Transit, among others. Hover over the graph below to see the allocation breakdown.
AC Transit has created a contingency plan of service cuts. Below you can see the lines that cross through Emeryville and how they would be impacted. Significant changes would include the removal of the F Line on weekends and reduced frequency on Line 22.
A yes vote would increase the sales tax to fund public transport. A no vote would leave the sales tax rate unchanged.
You can read more about the measure and AC Transit’s contingency plan in Emeryville Today.
Statewide races
The ballot includes many more races, including those for governor, House representative and more. You can find information on California propositions and statewide elections from the following sources: CalMatters’ Voting Guide; Alameda County and Vote411.org.
(Top photo of a ballot dropbox, by Natalia Baños Delgado)
Should Alameda County raise the minimum wage to $30 an hour? Voters will decide.
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