(a) Except where the Charter or this Code provides otherwise, the applicable provisions of Division 8, Part 1, Chapter 1 of the California Elections Code shall govern the collection, submission, and processing of signatures in lieu of filing fees.
(b) Each candidate shall pay to the Director of Elections at the time of filing the candidate’s nomination certificates the fee specified in Section 810 of this Code.
(c) In lieu of part or all of the filing fee, a candidate may submit to the Director of Elections signatures of voters registered in San Francisco. Each signature submitted shall reduce the fee by the amount specified in Section 840 of this Code. Each in-lieu petition shall include spaces for the voter’s signature, printed name, and residence address. The residence address shall include street and number within the City and County, or other adequate designation of residence so that the location may be readily ascertained. Across the top of each printed page there shall be printed in 12-point boldface type the following: “Petition in Lieu of Candidate Filing Fee.”
(d) A candidate may submit a greater number of signatures than required to reduce the filing fee to zero. The Director of Elections shall not be required to determine the validity of a greater number of signatures than that required to reduce the filing fee to zero. If the number of signatures affixed to an in-lieu petition is 100 or more, the Director of Elections may use a random sampling technique for verification of the signatures. The random sampling shall include an examination of 100 signatures, or 3% of the total number of signatures submitted, whichever is greater. Upon completion of the verification of signatures in the sample, the percentage of signatures which are valid shall be applied and projected to the total number of signatures submitted.