Tech Worker Voter Guide

Voting in elections - especially on local issues - means we can have a say in shaping a more equitable future for our cities, and our communities.

We have a duty to use our collective voice for good. We stand for pragmatic progressive policies and equity.

Read Full Nov 2020 Guide Give me the tl;dr

What We Stand For

Good Government

Accountable to the people, deliver high quality public services, and efficient

Enfranchise People

Represent people who don’t have a strong lobby

Social Values

Advocate for policies that advance social equity

Responsible Taxation

Use the right mechanisms to fund important shit

Strength in Solidarity

The tech industry is a big part of San Francisco and California’s economy. Tech workers comprise a significant part of San Francisco’s population and tax base.

Yet voter turnout in local races are low, with 10-20% undervotes the last election. People left key races blank, where the difference between electing a supervisor was down to a couple hundred votes! The downballot matters too.

What does this mean? We can be an influential voting bloc. Politics is a group activity and we need to organize to be effective!

November 2020 Voting Guide

If you don't want to read the full November 2020 voter guide, look at the tl;dr below:

Candidates

Federal
President
Joe Biden
Congress, District 12
Nancy Pelosi
Congress, District 14
Jackie Speier
State
Senate
Scott Wiener
Assembly, District 17
David Chiu
Assembly, District 19
No Endorsement
San Francisco
Supervisor, District 1

Marjan Philhour #1

Veronica Shinzato #2

Supervisor, District 3
Danny Sauter
Supervisor, District 5
Vallie Brown
Supervisor, District 7

Myrna Melgar

Joel Engardio
(honorable mention)

Supervisor, District 9
No Endorsement
Supervisor, District 11
No Endorsement
Board of Education

Michelle Parker

College Board

Jeanette Quick

Victor Olivieri

BART Board, District 7
Lateefah Simon
BART Board, District 9
No Endorsement

Propositions

State
14
🤷 No Endorsement
15
✅ YES
16
✅ YES
17
✅ YES
18
✅ YES
19
✅ YES
20
❌ NO
21
❌ NO
22
❌ NO
23
❌ NO
24
❌ NO
25
✅ YES
San Francisco
A
✅ YES
B
❌ NO
C
✅ YES
D
✅ YES
E
✅ YES
F
✅ YES
G
🤷 No Endorsement
H
✅ YES
I
❌ NO
J
✅ YES
K
✅ YES
L
❌ NO
RR
✅ YES

Our framework

The Tech Worker Voter Guide operates via a decision-making framework plus a questionnaire for candidates.

We have a general voting framework for ballot props which works most of the time. This framework was developed over several elections by several people, and it is now fairly stable.

  • Good Government
    • Bureaucracy - Vote for things which decrease needless or unhelpful bureaucracy
    • Promotion - Vote for things which promote good government
  • Representation
    • No Lobby - Vote for groups that don't have a strong lobby (youth, disabled, homeless, low-income people, the environment)
    • Rights - Vote against things which infringe upon rights of the people
  • Taxation
    • Externalities - Vote for things that price externalities
    • Infrastructure - Vote to fund infrastructure
    • Liberate Set-Asides - Vote to liberate funds from budget set-asides, to be useful for other purposes
    • New Taxes - Generally prefer to vote for new taxes, preferably without a set-aside
    • Set-Asides - Generally vote against budget set-asides, which limit the ability of representatives to budget effectively
  • Values
    • Equity - Vote for racial and gender equity
    • Immigration - Vote for policies which promote immigration and immigrant rights
    • LGBTQ+ - Vote for more LGBTQ+ rights
    • Movement - Vote for policies which increase freedom of movement
    • Safety Nets - Vote to improve and expand social safety nets