May 4, 2026

Your ballot arrives this week — here's what to look for

Marin County mails a ballot to every registered voter around May 4, 2026 for the June 2 statewide primary.^[1] If you’re a registered voter in Fairfax, San Anselmo, Sleepy Hollow, or the Woodacre portion of San Geronimo Valley, you’ll find Measure H on it.

Here’s the practical guide.

What you’ll see on the ballot

Measure H appears as the Ross Valley School District Special Parcel Tax Measure in the local-measures section, near the bottom of your ballot.^[2] The official ballot question reads (per Ballotpedia):

“Shall the measure to renew the expiring current $742 parcel tax, while adding $540 per parcel, providing $8,600,000 annually for 10 years, with senior exemptions, 3% annual adjustments, independent oversight, no funds for administrators, and all funds staying local, be adopted?”

You’ll also find:

The county’s impartial analysis — a non-partisan summary of what the measure does
The Argument in Favor of Measure H, signed by Becky Bingea (League of Women Voters of Marin), San Anselmo Mayor Stephen Burdo, Michael Rosenthal (Fairfax homeowner), Frank Gomez (Wink Optics), and Pete Santucci (RVSD music teacher)^[3]
The Argument Against Measure H, signed by A. Sean Aguilar, Denyce Volger-Codoni, Jeff Wells, Richard Barham, and George Jackson^[3]
The rebuttals to each argument

The whole packet is designed to be readable in 10 minutes. If you’ve already read the home page of this site and the yes-on-h page, you’ll recognize most of the arguments.

Three deadlines

June 2, 2026, 8:00 PM — polls close. Ballots must be either:

Postmarked by June 2 if returned by mail (USPS will postmark it that day if you drop it before the last pickup), OR
Dropped in an official Marin County drop box by 8:00 PM on June 2, OR
Returned in person at any Marin County voting location.

A ballot postmarked June 2 has up to 7 days after election day to arrive at the Registrar’s office and still count, but the postmark or drop time has to be by 8 PM on election day itself.^[1]

How to return it

By mail. Sign the back of the envelope (this matters — Marin County will reject a ballot with a missing signature, though they’ll send you a “cure” notice). Postage is prepaid. Drop it in any USPS mailbox.

By drop box. Marin County operates official drop boxes throughout the county; in the Ross Valley area, the closest are typically:

Fairfax Town Hall, 142 Bolinas Road, Fairfax
San Anselmo Town Hall, 525 San Anselmo Avenue, San Anselmo
San Anselmo Library, 110 Tunstead Avenue, San Anselmo
Marin County Civic Center, Room 121, 3501 Civic Center Drive, San Rafael

The full, current list (with hours) is on the Marin County Elections Department site.

In person. Vote centers open in the days before June 2. Same locations as drop boxes, plus a handful of additional sites for in-person voting and same-day registration.

A few practical things people forget

You can vote Yes on Measure H even if you’re 65 or older and plan to claim the senior exemption. The exemption is administrative and doesn’t depend on your vote. (We have a separate post on the senior exemption when it publishes.)
Renters can vote on Measure H. It’s a parcel tax, not an ad valorem property tax — owners pay it directly, but registered voters living in the district vote on it. If you rent in San Anselmo or Fairfax, you have a vote.
You don’t need to be a parent. Measure H is a community decision. Some of the most articulate Yes voices are from neighbors who don’t have school-age kids — Michael Rosenthal, the Fairfax homeowner who signed the Argument in Favor, said: “I don’t have kids of my own. Still, I believe that education is one of the most worthy destinations for my tax dollars.”^[3]
Measure H requires 66.67% to pass. Marin school parcel taxes pass about 88% of the time, but the supermajority requirement is the structural reason measures sometimes fall short despite a clear majority.^[4] If you’re a Yes voter, the most useful thing you can do is talk to two or three neighbors who haven’t decided.

The short version is on the home page. The longer version is on yes-on-h. If you have ten more minutes:

The MCOE-required contingency plan that follows a No vote is documented in writing and includes the closure of two of four elementary schools and likely state receivership by August 2028.^[5] Our post on what a No actually triggers walks through the tier table.
Even at $1,282 per parcel, RVSD would still pay less than Mill Valley ($1,520), Kentfield ($1,842), or Ross ($1,644) — and would still receive less per-pupil revenue than any of those districts.^[6]
The senior exemption preserves opt-out for homeowners 65+ and for residents on SSI or SSDI; existing exemptees don’t have to reapply.

If you’re voting No, we want you to vote No on the strongest version of the case for Yes — not on a strawman. That’s what the yes-on-h page is for.

If you’re voting Yes, return your ballot promptly. The hardest votes to count are the ones still on the kitchen counter on June 2.

Sources

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