Voter Registration
Registration Deadline: Your registration must be postmarked or submitted electronically or hand delivered no later than 15 days before the election in which you wish to vote.
Same Day (Conditional) Voter Registration: Conditional Voter Registration is a new safety net for Californians who miss the deadline to register to vote or update their voter registration information for an election. While you may not be able to vote at your regular polling place or vote by mail, there is still an opportunity to cast a ballot by completing the conditional voter registration process.
Eligible citizens who miss the deadline can go to their county elections office or a designated satellite location to register and vote conditionally. Their ballots will be processed once the county elections office has completed the voter registration verification process. Voters can complete the conditional voter registration process 14 days before an election all the way through to that Election Day.
Contact your local county elections official for more information.
Party affiliation: For US Senate, US House, and state legislative races, California holds an “open” primary. Voters can pick any candidate regardless of how they’re registered. The top two vote-getters, regardless of political party, will advance to the general election.
For the presidential primary, you can only cast a ballot for the party of which you are registered. The state GOP has a “closed” presidential primary – voters with no political preference cannot participate. But, the state Democratic Party allows voters with no political preference to participate in its presidential primary. You will not automatically receive a ballot, though, you must request one.
To change your party preference, you must re-register to vote.
Your political party preference will not affect which ballot you receive for the general election.
If you change your name: If you have legally changed your name, you will need to re-register to vote. It is recommended that you first update your driver license or identification card before updating your voter record.
If you are re-registering online and have not updated your DMV record first, select “decline” on the application when asked to use your DMV signature to register. If you do not decline use of your DMV signature, your application will be rejected. After you select “decline” continue filling in your information, print, sign, and mail the paper application to your county elections office.
Voter Registration Qualifications
Age: Must be 18 years of age or older on Election Day
16 or 17 year olds that meet all other voting requirements may pre-register to vote and be automatically registered to vote once they turn 18
Citizenship: Must be a United States citizen
Residency: Must be a resident of California
Mental Competency: Not currently found by a court to be mentally incompetent.
Felony Convictions: Not currently imprisoned or on parole for the conviction of a felony (for more information on the rights of people who have been incarcerated, please see the Secretary of State's Voting Rights for Californians with Criminal Convictions or Detained in Jail or Prison)
Obtaining a Voter Registration Form
Online: Fill out the online application. To register online you will need your California driver license or California identification card number, the last four digits of your social security number and your date of birth. If you do not have a California driver license or California identification card, you can still use this form to apply to register to vote by completing the online interview by 11:59:59 p.m. Pacific Time on the 15th calendar day before an election.
In person: If you would like to register using a paper voter registration application, you can pick one up at your county elections office, library, Department of Motor Vehicles offices, or U.S. post office. It is important that your voter registration application be filled out completely and be postmarked or hand-delivered to your county elections office at least 15 days before the election.
Paper: If you would like to register using a paper voter registration application, you can pick one up at your county elections office, library, Department of Motor Vehicles offices, or U.S. post office. It is important that your voter registration application be filled out completely and be postmarked or hand-delivered to your county elections office at least 15 days before the election.
Phone/Email: To request a paper voter registration application be mailed to you, please call (800) 345-VOTE(8683) or email Elections Division staff.
VOTER REGISTRATION FOR MILITARY AND OVERSEAS VOTERS
You can qualify as a "military or overseas voter" if you are absent from the county in which you are eligible to vote and you are;
-A member of the active or reserve components of the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard; a Merchant Marine; a member of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps; a member of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps of the United States; or a member on activated status of the National Guard or state militia
-A spouse or dependent of a person described above; or
-A U.S. citizen living outside of the territorial limits of the U.S. or D.C.
Even if you are or were registered to vote in your county, in order to receive your election materials and vote when you are absent from your county while serving and/or living overseas, you need to apply for a vote-by-mail ballot by completing the online voter registration application or by completing the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) (PDF).
When you complete your online voter registration application or your FPCA, you can choose to receive your ballot and the accompanying Military or Overseas Voter Return Envelope mailed, faxed, or emailed to you. You may even be able to download them from your county elections official's website.
SUBMITTING A MILITARY AND OVERSEAS VOTER BALLOT
Return your voted ballot and signed Military or Overseas Voter Return Envelope to your county elections official. Mail or fax (under certain circumstances) your voted ballot and signed return envelope following the Secretary of State's online instructions under "Mailing Addresses and Fax Numbers for Military or Overseas Voters".
If mailing: Your voted ballot and signed return envelope must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received by your county elections office no later than 3 days after Election Day.
If faxing: If you are living outside the territorial limits of the United States or are called for military service within the United States on or after the final date to make application for a vote-by-mail ballot, you may return your ballot by fax, but it must be received by your county elections office by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day. If you decide to fax your voted ballot and signed Military or Overseas Voter Return Envelope, you must also fax an "Oath of Voter" form to waive your right to a confidential vote. This oath is in addition to the voter's declaration that is on the Military or Overseas Voter Return Envelope. Please use the oath form your county provides to you; however, many counties also accept the "Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) Alternative Form (PDF)". Please check with your county before using FVAP's Alternative Form.
Verifying Your Voter Registration Status
Check the Status of Your Voter Registration
Obtaining an Absentee Ballot
County elections officials will mail vote-by-mail ballots to all active registered voters. All voters may vote-by-mail instead of going to the polls on Election Day. If you failed to receive your vote-by-mail ballot or if it was lost or destroyed, you may apply in writing for a replacement, and submit it to your county elections official. If you are unable to vote in person at the polls and do not have a vote-by-mail ballot, you may apply in writing for a late vote-by-mail ballot.
SUBMITTING AN ABSENTEE BALLOT
Vote-by-mail ballots that are personally delivered must be delivered no later than the close of polls at 8:00 p.m. on Election Day. Vote-by-mail ballots that are mailed must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received by your county elections office no later than 7 days after Election Day. If you are not sure your vote-by-mail ballot will arrive in time if mailed, bring it to any polling place in your county between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. on Election Day.
VOTING ON ELECTION DAY
All polling place locations are open on Election Day from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. If you live in a county that is conducting elections under the California Voter's Choice Act, please visit that web page for more information.
In most cases, California voters are not required to show identification at their polling place. However, it is a good idea to bring identification with you when you vote for the first time. A poll worker may ask to see your identification if you mailed your voter registration application and did not include your driver license number, California identification number, or the last four digits of your Social Security number.
For more information on identification to use when you vote for the first time check the complete list or call the Secretary of State's toll-free voter hotline at (800) 345-VOTE (8683).
Tracking your ballot: California Elections Code 3017(c) requires county elections officials to establish procedures for tracking vote-by-mail ballots. You can track the status of your ballot by visiting “My Voter Status”. The Secretary of State has also started offering “Where’s My Ballot,” which is a tool that lets voters know where their ballot is at every step of the process. Using this tool, powered by Ballotrax, voters can receive updates by text, email, or voice message from county election officials. You can sign up here to receive updates.
Provisional Voting: If your name is not on a voter list at your polling location, you have a right to fill out a provisional ballot. This is a regular ballot that is placed in a special envelope to be put in a ballot box. You can cast a provisional ballot if you:
-Believe you are registered to vote despite not being on the voter list at the polls
-If you received a vote-by-mail ballot but want to vote at a polling center
-If you did not receive a vote-by-mail ballot or do not have your ballot with you.
Your ballot will be counted after elections officials have confirmed your voter registration and confirm that you have not already voted in the election.
Additional Information
Deciding how to vote: https://votesmart.org
Polling Place: California Polling Place finder
Problems with voting: If you believe that you are a victim of election fraud or have witnessed a criminal violation of the California Elections Code, you may use the Election Voter Complaint Form to report the violation to California Secretary of State
Investigative Services. California Election Voter Complaint Form English and Spanish.
Verifying provisional ballot status: California Provisional Ballot Checkup
Assistance in Other Languages: click here for a voter registration form in a language other than English or Spanish.
California’s Voter Information Guide: Click here
Requires physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant, with six months relevant experience, on site during treatment at outpatient kidney dialysis clinics; authorizes exemption for staffing shortage if qualified medical professional is available through telehealth. Requires clinics to disclose to patients all physicians with clinic ownership interests of five percent or more. Requires clinics to report dialysis-related infection data to state. Prohibits clinics from closing or substantially reducing services without state approval. Prohibits clinics from refusing to treat patients based on source of payment.
Legalizes online and mobile sports wagering, which currently is prohibited, for persons 21 years and older. Such wagering may be offered only by federally recognized Indian tribes and eligible businesses that contract with them. Individuals placing bets must be in California and not located on Indian lands. Imposes 10% tax on sports-wagering revenues and licensing fees. Directs tax and licensing revenues first to regulatory costs, then remainder to: 85% to homelessness programs; 15% to nonparticipating tribes. Specifies licensing, regulatory, consumer-protection, and betting-integrity standards for sports wagering.
Increases tax on personal income over $2 million by 1.75% for individuals and married couples and allocates new tax revenues as follows: (1) 45% for rebates and other incentives for zero-emission vehicle purchases and 35% for charging stations for zero-emission vehicles, with at least half of this funding directed to low-income households and communities; and (2) 20% for wildfire prevention and suppression programs, with priority given to hiring and training firefighters. Requires audits of programs and expenditures.
Allows federally recognized Native American tribes to operate roulette, dice games, and sports wagering on tribal lands, subject to compacts negotiated by the Governor and ratified by the Legislature. Beginning in 2022, allows on-site sports wagering at only privately operated horse-racing tracks in four specified counties for persons 21 years or older. Imposes 10% tax on sports-wagering profits at horse-racing tracks; directs portion of revenues to enforcement and problem-gambling programs. Prohibits marketing of sports wagering to persons under 21. Authorizes private lawsuits to enforce other gambling laws. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Increased state revenues, potentially reaching the tens of millions of dollars annually, from payments made by facilities offering sports wagering and new civil penalties authorized by this measure. Some portion of these revenues would reflect a shift from other existing state and local revenues. Increased state regulatory costs, potentially reaching the low tens of millions of dollars annually. Some or all of these costs would be offset by the increased revenue or reimbursements to the state. Increased state enforcement costs, not likely to exceed several million dollars annually, related to a new civil enforcement tool for enforcing certain gaming laws.
Proposition 28 would require a minimum source of annual funding for K-12 public schools, including charter schools, to fund arts education programs. The annual minimum amount established by the law would be equal to, at minimum, 1% of the total state and local revenues that local education agencies received under Proposition 98 (1988) during the prior fiscal year. The minimum under the proposed law would be in addition to the funding required by Proposition 98. According to the Legislative Analyst's Office, the ballot initiative would likely result in increased spending of $800 million to $1 billion each fiscal year.
If the required number of registered voters sign this petition and the petition is timely filed, there will be a referendum challenging a 2020 law on the next statewide ballot after the November 3, 2020 general election. The challenged law prohibits the retail sale of certain flavored tobacco products and tobacco flavor enhancers. The referendum would require a majority of voters to approve the 2020 state law before it can take effect.
Proposition 1 would amend the California Constitution to establish a right to reproductive freedom, including a right to an abortion and to choose or refuse contraceptives. The amendment states, "The state shall not deny or interfere with an individuals reproductive freedom in their most intimate decisions, which includes their fundamental right to choose to have an abortion and their fundamental right to choose or refuse contraceptives." As of June 24, 2022, abortion was legal in California up to fetal viability and after viability if the procedure is necessary to protect the life or health of the mother.
