The ballot question: "Measure A, passed in 1986, requires voters to approve land use changes for onshore facilities that support offshore oil and gas development. To protect our economy, environment, and quality of life, shall voters enact an ordinance to update Measure A to also require voter approval for land use changes related to deep-sea mining facilities and strengthen the law against legal challenges?"

What it would do

  • Require a public vote before county supervisors change land-use rules to allow onshore facilities that transport, store, process or dispose of deep-sea minerals and slurry. Examples include pipelines, tanks, processing plants and landfills.
  • Reinforce the existing vote requirement for facilities that support offshore oil and gas drilling, and list the potential harms to the county's environment and economy.
  • Exempt gas stations, power plants and existing facilities. It applies only in unincorporated areas, not inside cities.

An impartial fiscal analysis says the measure has no tax or fee and isn't expected to require county spending. It needs a simple majority to pass.

Why now

County leaders put Measure D on the ballot after federal moves to open waters off the Central Coast to oil drilling and deep-sea mining. Local governments can't block offshore leasing. They can refuse to host the onshore infrastructure an operation would need. Save Our Shores has helped revive the 1980s "blue wall" strategy of coastal counties and cities doing exactly that. Good Times reports that no onshore facility supporting offshore drilling has been built in the county since Measure A passed.

Arguments

Supporters argue the update makes the existing limits more legally durable and addresses a new threat to the ocean. No argument against Measure D was filed with county elections.

The same countywide ballot includes Measure E, a five-year half-cent sales tax.

How to vote

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Polls and vote centers close at 8 p.m., and mailed ballots must be postmarked by Election Day and arrive within seven days. You can check your registration and ballot status at sos.ca.gov/elections. California lets you register and vote the same day at a vote center. For more local races and measures, see our 2026 Bay Area election hub.