Voting and elections in Palo Alto

Voting in Palo Alto is run by Santa Clara County, not the city. The county Registrar of Voters mails a ballot to every registered voter, runs the vote centers and counts the results. The city's role is narrower. The City Clerk administers Palo Alto's own municipal election, which covers city council seats and city ballot measures. The clerk also posts candidate filings and measure documents.

This guide covers how to register, your three ways to vote, where to find vote centers and drop boxes in Palo Alto and Stanford and how council elections work. Dates below are for the general election on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, as published by the city and its library in October 2026. For other first-month tasks after a move, see our moving to Palo Alto checklist.

Registering to vote

To vote in California you must be a U.S. citizen, a California resident and at least 18 on Election Day. Register online through the California Secretary of State, where you can also check your current registration.

• New to Palo Alto? Re-register at your new address. A registration from another county does not move with you automatically.
• Changed your name or party? You must re-register.
• Already registered in Santa Clara County? You can update an address, request a language preference or fix errors with the county's Voter Action Request Form.
• Missed the deadline? The regular deadline is 15 days before an election. For November 3, 2026 it was October 19. After that, conditional voter registration is available at any county vote center up to and including Election Day.

Sixteen and 17 year olds can preregister in California and are registered automatically when they turn 18.

Three ways to vote

Santa Clara County mails a vote-by-mail ballot to every registered voter. For the November 2026 election, ballots went out starting the week of October 5. You then choose how to return it.

By mail

Mark your ballot, then sign, date and seal the return envelope. No postage is needed. The ballot must be postmarked by Election Day and reach the county within seven days after it. If you are mailing close to the deadline, a drop box is safer. You can track your ballot through the Secretary of State's Where's My Ballot service.

At a drop box

Secure drop boxes are open 24 hours a day. Your ballot must be in a box by 8 p.m. on Election Day.

At a vote center

You can vote at any vote center in the county, not only the one nearest your home. At a vote center you can drop off your mail ballot, get a replacement, vote on an accessible machine, get help in several languages or register and vote the same day.

Vote centers in Palo Alto and Stanford

The city clerk's office and the Palo Alto City Library published this list for the November 3, 2026 election. Two centers open 11 days before Election Day and the rest open four days before. Every vote center in the county is open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.

The full list is on the library's Elections 2026 voter resources page, which links to the county's countywide list. Locations change between elections. In the June 2026 primary, for example, the library's Palo Alto list included a church hall downtown and no Stanford sites. The library lists Tresidder at 450 Lagunita Drive; the building's usual address is 459 Lagunita Drive.

Ballot drop boxes

These five boxes in Palo Alto and Stanford are open around the clock:

• Palo Alto City Hall, 250 Hamilton Avenue
• Palo Alto High School, 50 Embarcadero Road
• Mitchell Park Library, 3700 Middlefield Road, at the curb near the front entrance
• Rinconada Library, 1213 Newell Road, on the north side opposite the Art Center
• Stanford Hospital, 300 Pasteur Drive

The library asks voters not to put ballots in its book drops. The county Registrar of Voters office at 1555 Berger Drive in San Jose also accepts ballots and is open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day. Questions go to the registrar at 866-430-VOTE (8683).

How Palo Alto elects its council

Palo Alto does not use council districts. According to the city's council election page, members are elected at-large and serve staggered four-year terms. Elections are held in November of even-numbered years, on the same ballot as the statewide general election. Because terms are staggered, three or four seats are usually on the ballot each cycle.

The council has seven members. Voters do not elect the mayor directly. Every January the council chooses a mayor and vice mayor from among its members by majority vote for one-year terms. Our guide to how city government works explains what the council and the city manager each do.

On the November 2026 ballot

• City Council. Three seats, held by council members whose terms end December 31, 2026. The City Clerk's 2026 Municipal Election Guide lists the qualified candidates and their campaign filings.
• Measure J. A municipal sales tax measure the city connects to the Cubberley Community Center. The clerk's page posts the ballot question, the City Attorney's impartial analysis and the arguments for and against.
• Other contests. Palo Alto voters also see federal, state, county and regional races, statewide propositions and a regional transit sales tax measure. The Palo Alto Unified School District board elects its members on the same ballot.

Your county voter information guide shows the exact contests for your address, including your sample ballot.

Following the money

Under the state Political Reform Act, city candidates and committees file campaign statements on set deadlines. Candidates also file a Statement of Economic Interests, known as Form 700. Palo Alto posts both through the eFile public portal linked from the City Clerk's election pages. The filings show who gave money, how much and what campaigns spent it on.

Becoming an informed voter

The Palo Alto City Library gathers nonpartisan resources before each election and often hosts explainer events at its branches. The League of Women Voters of Palo Alto holds candidate forums for council and school board races. The county publishes audio versions of candidate statements. Our libraries guide lists the branches and their hours. If you want to stay involved between elections, our volunteering guide covers civic groups and city volunteer roles.

Frequently asked questions