A San Francisco ballot measure to place lifetime term limits on the mayor and supervisors has slightly surpassed the majority of votes needed to pass, according to early election results released Tuesday.
Around 55% of voters have so far approved Measure B, which proposes placing stricter limits on the number of times that mayors and supervisors can serve in office.
The updated count so far includes most vote-by-mail ballots received before Election Day and all votes cast at polling centers on Election Day.
The measure, which is supported by supervisors Bilal Mahmood, Myrna Melgar, Alan Wong, Stephen Sherill, Danny Sauter, and Matt Dorsey, was introduced to stop a loophole that allows politicians to serve numerous terms.
In the 1990s, San Francisco voters passed a measure that prevented the mayor and supervisors from serving more than two consecutive four-year terms. However, the loophole allows people in these positions to serve more than two terms if they take a break in between.
Supervisors Shamann Walton, Connie Chan, Chyanne Chen, and Board President Rafael Mandelman previously voted against putting the measure on the ballot.
Former Board President Aaron Peskin is the only former supervisor who has been able to serve more than two terms through the loophole. He first served two terms from 2001 to 2009, then another two terms from 2015 to 2025.
Other former supervisors have tried running again after serving two terms but were not reelected.
On Wednesday, the San Francisco Department of Elections will announce how many more ballots need to be tallied.
