City Elections

The Clerk of the Council serves as the elections official and is responsible for all candidate filings, the issuance and acceptance of nomination papers, City measures and publication of all legal notices as well as campaign and conflict of interest filings required by the Fair Political Practices Commission.

The general municipal elections for the City are held on the first Tuesday in November of even-numbered years for the purpose of electing City Council members or placing special measures and/or bond issues before the voters.

The City Council is made up of a Mayor and six Councilmembers, for a total of seven members. City Council members are nominated by their respective wards and thhe Mayoral seat is nominated at-large. The offices of Mayor and City Council are non-partisan.

The Mayor serves a term of two years, with a maximum of four consecutive terms. While, Councilmembers each serve a four-year term, with a maximum of three consecutive four-year terms.   At the next City General Municipal election, to be held on November 3, 2020, Wards 1, 3, 5, and the Mayoral seats will be up for election. 

2020 SPECIAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a Special Municipal Election will be held in the City of Santa Ana on Tuesday, May 19, 2020 to consider the recall of Ward 6 Councilmember Cecilia Iglesias and to elect a successor if the recall measure prevails.

On June 26, 2019, proponents filed a Notice of Intention to Circulate Recall Petition for the aforementioned officer with the City Clerk. The City Clerk approved the petition format on August 15, 2019. Based on Elections Code §11220 and §11221, the proponents were required to collect 10,865 signatures of registered Santa Ana voters -- 10 percent of the last report of voter registration filed with the Secretary of State -- within 120 days of when the petition format was approved for circulation.

The proponents filed the completed petition with the City Clerk's Office on December 18, 2019. The City Clerk conducted a prima facie count of the signatures and, pursuant to Elections Code §11224, the Orange County Registrar of Voters (ROV) verified the signatures on the petition and any withdrawal forms. A Certificate of Signature Verification from the ROV was provided to the City Clerk on February 3, 2020, which indicated the number of signatures on the petition was sufficient. Pursuant to Elections Code §11227, the City Council accepted the result on February 18, 2020 and called for an election date of May 19, 2020.

Candidate Filing Period

City Council Ward 6 candidate nomination period is currently open and will close at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 5, 2020. The Santa Ana City Clerk issues and accepts official nomination documents by appointment only during regular business hours, Monday through Friday (except closed Fridays), 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Visit Calendar for Closed Friday and Holiday schedules.

Click here to verify that you reside in Ward 6 and are eligible.

By appointment only, to pick up and file nomination papers from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., please call (714) 647 – 6520 or email cityclerks@santa-ana.org

The following are key dates for the March 19, 2020, election:

Nomination Period Opens     February 19, 2020
Nomination Period Closes     March 5, 2020
Secretary of State Holds Random Alpha Drawing  March 6, 2020
Write-in Candidacy Filing Period Opens           March 23, 2020
Write-in Candidacy Filing Period Closes    May 5, 2020
Last Date to Register to Vote      May 4, 2020
Select Vote Center Opens    May 9, 2020
Election Day   May 19, 2020
Campaign Signs Must Be Removed   June 18, 2020
Deadline to Certify Election Results June 18, 2020

 FPPC Candidates and Controlled Committees Filing Schedule             

Election Information

Election History

 

Campaign Finance

 

Voter Registration:

 

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