Supreme Court Rejects Bid to Set Aside 20,000 California Ballots

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a last-minute federal bid to set aside roughly 20,000 California ballots on Monday evening, clearing the way for normal Election Day counting as San Francisco voters weighed ballot reform under Proposition D, celebrated the final night of Dia De Los Muertos, and prepared for Wednesday's Golden State Valkyries championship parade.

U.S. Supreme Court Declines Emergency Bid to Segregate 20,000 California Ballots

As reported by NBC Bay Area, The Almanac, and the San Francisco Examiner, the U.S. Supreme Court refused without noted dissent to block a federal injunction protecting approximately 20,000 registered California voters:

• Emergency Application to Justice Elena Kagan: Earlier Monday, U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer filed an emergency appeal with Justice Elena Kagan—who handles 9th Circuit emergency motions—seeking to pause Saturday's ruling by U.S. District Judge David O. Carter and Sunday's denial by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Department of Homeland Security had sent county registrars—including officials in Alameda, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Los Angeles, and Fresno counties—spreadsheets flagging roughly 20,000 voters out of California's 23.2 million registered voters via the SAVE database and demanding their removal within 48 hours.
• 42% Flagged Without ID Numbers & Separate Federal Rulings: Judge Carter found that the UCLA Voting Rights Project determined 42% of the flagged registrations did not even have a driver's license number or Social Security number on file, while Orange County verified that 17 flagged individuals were U.S. citizens. Separately, U.S. District Judge Trina L. Thompson in San Francisco blocked federal authorities from arresting election workers or deploying agents around polling sites, and Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington ruled last month that DHS could not run bulk citizenship queries through Social Security records. California Attorney General Rob Bonta praised the Supreme Court's order.

San Francisco Weighs Prop. D Amid 25% Early Turnout and Celebrates Dia De Los Muertos

Across San Francisco, local ballot measures, broadcast schedules, and neighborhood cultural traditions took center stage on Monday evening:

• Proposition D & 300-Page Voter Guides: According to NBC Bay Area, San Francisco voters are deciding Proposition D, backed by Mayor Daniel Lurie, which would raise the signature threshold for citizen ballot initiatives from roughly 10,000 signatures to between 40,000 and 50,000 (8% of votes cast in the prior gubernatorial election) and increase the number of Board of Supervisors members needed to place a measure on the ballot from 4 to 6 out of 11 supervisors. Supporters Jay Cheng (campaign spokesperson for Prop. D) and Todd David (political director of Abundant SF) pointed to San Francisco's nearly 300-page voter guide, while opponent John Avalos warned the higher threshold would favor wealthy donors.
• 25% Mail Turnout, $13M Campaign Spending & Election Coverage: As reported by 48 Hills executive editor Tim Redmond, early mail ballot turnout in San Francisco stood at 25% as of 5 p.m. Monday, while billionaire donors contributed $13 million to Mayor Lurie's ballot measure campaigns alongside high-profile races involving Proposition E (civil service reform), Proposition I (park land use), and District 4 supervisor candidates Beya Alcaraz, Natalie Gee, and Albert Chow. Meanwhile, KTVU FOX 2 announced live Election Day coverage from 5 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, anchored in the evening by Frank Somerville, Julie Haener, Greg Lee, Heather Holmes, Alex Savidge, and political analyst Brian Sobel.
• Final Night of Dia De Los Muertos in the Mission: On KCBS Radio, anchor Rebecca Goodeyon reported on Bay Area All Local that residents gathered in San Francisco's Mission district Monday evening to build a sprawling living tribute honoring loved ones on the final night of Dia De Los Muertos celebrations.

Caltrain Adds Special Trains for Valkyries WNBA Parade; Buster Posey Finalizes Giants' 40-Man Roster

Bay Area sports fans also received transit and roster updates on Monday night:

• Caltrain Special Service for Wednesday's Valkyries Parade: According to Caltrain and NBC Bay Area, the Golden State Valkyries will celebrate their WNBA championship—won in only their 2nd franchise season—with a parade down Market Street from the Ferry Building to Civic Center Plaza starting at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, November 4, followed by a 1:00 p.m. rally. Caltrain will run 2 northbound morning express trains (Train 901 departing San Jose Diridon at 8:10 a.m. and arriving in San Francisco at 9:17 a.m., and Train 902 departing at 8:40 a.m. and arriving at 9:47 a.m.) and 2 southbound post-rally trains (Trains 914 and 916 departing San Francisco at 3:05 p.m. and 3:35 p.m.).
• Giants Finalize 40-Man Roster Under Buster Posey: As detailed by The San Francisco Standard, San Francisco Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey finalized the club's 40-man roster at Monday's 5 p.m. deadline—5 days after the World Series—following a 97-loss 2026 season. With 15 players returning from the 60-day injured list (including pitchers Landen Roupp, Carson Whisenhunt, Blade Tidwell, Erik Miller, Reiver Sanmartin, Randy Rodríguez, Rowan Wick, and Jason Foley), the Giants outrighted 7 players off the roster (2020 1st-round pick Patrick Bailey remains while 2020 13th-overall pick Carson Ragsdale, Will Bednar, JT Brubaker, Joey Lucchesi, Ryan Walker, Jerar Encarnacion, and Justin Dean were removed) and saw Robbie Ray, Tyler Mahle, Michael Conforto, and Austin Slater enter free agency.