Voting in
California

Upcoming Election Dates & Deadlines

Upcoming Election: Primary Election

Election Day: November 5, 2024

Registration Deadline: November 5, 2024

Vote By Mail: no

Early Voting: -

How to vote in California

California's election schedule

California's Election Overview

Californians have lots of flexibility. You can register to vote online, by mail, or in person. When it’s time to vote, you can do so in person, by mail, or via drop box. No need to bring an ID if you’re voting by mail.

Important Voting Links for California

How to vote in California

Absentee Ballot Process

County elections officials mail vote-by-mail ballots to all active registered voters. If you failed to receive your vote-by-mail ballot or you have lost or destroyed your original vote-by-mail ballot, and you are unable to vote in person at the polls, you may apply for a vote-by-mail ballot by doing one of the following:

Applying in writing to your county election official

Completing the Vote-By-Mail ballot application that is included in your sample ballot, which your county elections official will mail to you prior to each election
Downloading and completing an vote-by-mail application on-line.
Contact your county election official to see if your county allows you to apply by telephone.

Elections officials process applications 29 days to 7 days before an election. You may request an Vote-By-Mail ballot more than 29 days before an election, but not fewer than 7 days in advance. If you are voting by mail for the first time, and did not provide your driver license number, CA ID number, or the last 4 digits of your Social Security number on your registration application, you must provide a photo copy of the above ID with your vote-by-mail application. Other forms of ID include a recent utility bill, the county Voter Information Guide you received from your county elections office or any other governmental agency document (like your passport, driver license, student ID, etc.). If your ID cannot be verified your vote-by-mail ballot will not be opened. You can find a complete list of acceptable ID here. Track your Vote-By-Mail Ballot You can track the status of your vote-by-mail ballot by visiting the “My Voter Status” website and the Where’s My Ballot website. Late Vote-By-Mail Ballot Requests If you would like to request a Vote-By-Mail ballot after 7 days before the election, you will need to apply in person at your county elections office. Your county elections office may allow you to apply over the phone, just call to see if your office allows for telephone applications Even if you receive your vote-by-mail ballot, you can still vote at a polling place on Election Day. Bring your unused vote-by-mail ballot to your local polling place anytime between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. on Election Day and give it to a poll worker, who will exchange it for a polling place ballot you can use instead. If you do not bring your vote-by-mail ballot with you, you will not lose your opportunity to vote at a polling place on Election Day. A poll worker will provide you with a provisional ballot, which will be counted after your county elections official has confirmed you are registered to vote in that county and did not vote more than once in that election. Overseas citizens and U.S. military personnel can find information on how to register to vote and request an Vote-By-Mail ballot at the Overseas Vote Foundation.

Early Voting

You can vote early either in person at your county elections office, or by using the vote-by-mail system. Any registered voter may vote early instead of going to the polls on Election Day. All valid vote-by-mail ballots are counted in every election in California, regardless of the outcome or closeness of any race. Once your application is processed by your county elections official, your ballot will be sent to you. After you have voted, insert your ballot in the envelope provided, making sure you complete all required information on the envelope. You may return your voted vote-by-mail ballot by 1) mailing it to your county elections official; 2) returning it in person to a polling place or the elections office in your county on Election Day; or 3) authorizing anyone to return the ballot on your behalf.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible to vote, you must be:

A United States citizen
A resident of California
At least 18 years of age (or will be by the date of the next election)
Not in prison or on parole for conviction of a felony
Not have been judged by a court to be mentally incompetent to register and vote

You may pre-register to vote if you are at least 16 years old. Your registration will become active once you turn 18. You will need to re-register to vote when:

You move
You change your name
You change your political party affiliation

ID Needed for Voter Registration

To register to vote you will have to provide your states drivers’ license number or identification card number or the last four digits of your Social Security Number (SSN). If you do not include this information you will be required to provide identification when you vote. If you register to vote by mail and submit a driver’s license number that the state or local elections official can match with an existing state identification record, then you will not be required to provide identification when you vote.

ID Needed for Voting

A first-time voter who registers and did not provide identification with their application, may need to show identification at the polls. To be safe, bring your driver’s license or another photo ID. Voters can call or text 844-338-8743 at any time to reach VoteRiders Voter ID Helpline

Overseas and Military Voting

You are a Military or Overseas voter if you are in uniformed services, living overseas OR a spouse or dependent of a uniformed services voter. To get registered and vote, you can utilize Overseas Vote Foundation. If you have additional questions about elections and voting overseas you can use our state specific elections official directory or contact the Overseas Vote Foundation.

Primary Election Process

California is a “top two” primary state. In these primary elections all candidates are listed on the same ballot and all candidates are listed with their party affiliation. The top two candidates who get the most votes in each race, regardless of their party, move on to the General Election. If you have any questions about your state’s primary election, please contact your local election officials.

Provisional Voting

You may be asked to vote a provisional ballot if you meet specific criteria, including:

You believe you are registered to vote even though your name is not on the official voter registration list at the polling place
You signed up to vote by mail but want to vote at your polling place or vote center and you didn’t receive or you didn’t bring your vote by mail ballot with you and the election official is unable to verify that you have not returned your vote-by-mail ballot.

If you are asked to vote a provisional ballot it will be counted after elections officials confirm you are registered to vote and haven’t already voted in that election. Provisional ballots are counted no later than the Thursday after the election until completed.For more information around provisional voting, and information on how to track your provisional ballot, please visit your Secretary of State’s website.

Provisions for Voters with Disabilities

There are many ways voters with disabilities can cast their ballot. Vote-by-mail All voters can cast their ballot from home. For more information on voting by mail, click here. Remote Accessible Vote-by-Mail This allows voters to mark their selections on their ballot by using their own compatible technology to vote independently from their own home. For more information on how to use this option, click here. Curbside Voting This allows you to park as close as possible to the voting area. Election officials will bring you any voting materials you need to cast your ballot, either on the curb or in your car. Be sure to check if curbside voting is available at your polling or vote center by contacting you county elections office. Accessible Voting Machines Contact your county elections office for details around accessible voting machines in your area. For more information, you can utilize the American Association of People With Disabilities (AAPD) resource.

Time Off To Vote

Private and public employers must give employees time off to vote, unless the employee has two hours of nonworking time available to vote or employee fails to vote. Employers may require employees to give advance notice that they will need additional time off for voting. Employers may require the time off be taking at the beginning or the end of the employees shift.

Voting Machines

The voting machine systems used in California are optical scan and DRE. Optical Scan: With this system, you will receive a card or sheet of paper, which you take over to a private table or booth. The card has the names of the various candidates and ballot measures printed on it. With a pen or pencil you fill in a little box or circle or the space between two arrows. When you are finished filling out all the cards, you may bring the cards over to a ballot box, where poll workers will show you how to put the cards in the box. Or in some places, you may feed the completed cards or papers into a computer device that checks your card or paper right there at the polling place to make sure you have voted the way you want to and counts the votes. Direct Recording Electronic (DRE): Usually, after you have signed in, the poll workers will give you a card that you slide into a device to start your voting session. Some of these devices will show all of the candidates and ballot choices on one big screen. Often, with these big screen devices you push a button next to the name of the candidate you want to vote for (or yes or no on a ballot measure). On other DREs, the screen is set up to show pages. On each screen or page, there will probably be one thing to vote on. For example, on one screen or page, you might vote for president. Then you might move to the next page to vote for senator. Often these small-screen devices have a touch screen, where you touch the screen next to the name of the person you want to vote for. Other devices have a key pad. And some have a keyboard, so you can write in the name of someone you want to vote for. You let the system know you are finished voting by pushing a button, touching the screen or entering something on a keypad.