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Voting FAQ

We hope you will find answers to your voting-related questions in the Frequently Asked Questions below. If not, please contact us and we'll do our best to answer your question as quickly as possible.

Tip: place the curser over the topic to see links to the questions featured in that section.

 

Vote by Mail Voting (formerly known as “Absentee” Voting)

How do I vote by mail?

If you are temporarily living out of state or overseas, find it difficult to get to your polling place on Election Day, or simply prefer to vote from home, you can apply for a "Vote by Mail" ballot. Elections officials process Vote by Mail ballot applications 29 days to 7 days before an election. You may request a Vote by Mail ballot more than 29 days before an election, but not fewer than 7 days in advance.

California law allows any voter to register as a permanent a Vote by Mail voter for any reason. If you choose to be a permanent a Vote by Mail voter, you will not have to request a Vote by Mail ballot for each election; instead, you will automatically receive a ballot in the mail for each election.

A Vote by Mail ballot request form can be found in the "Sample Ballot" you receive from your county election office. Some political campaigns mail request forms to voters as well. If you do not have a request form, contact your county election office.

A Vote by Mail ballot must be received by your county election office by 8 pm on Election Day; you can mail in your ballot, return it to any polling place worker on Election Day, or return it in person to your county election office. For more information about Vote by Mail voting, please visit the Secretary of State's web site.

Will my vote by mail ballot actually be counted?

All Vote by Mail ballots that are returned to county election offices by 8 pm on election day are counted. After the 2000 election, a popular radio talk show host suggested on air that absentee ballots in California are not counted unless the contest is close, and unfortunately this piece of misinformation ended up being repeated to the point where many people became concerned that their absentee votes had not been counted.

All votes legally cast in this state are counted, regardless of whether they were cast at the polling place or submitted via mail through the vote by mail voting process. It may take a little longer to incorporate all of the vote by mail votes into the final election results, but they are all counted.

Vote by mail ballots must be returned to county election offices and received by those offices by the time polls close (8 pm) on Election Day in order to be counted. Late-arriving vote by mail ballots are not counted (just as you would not be able to vote if you arrived at your polling place at 9 or 10 pm).

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Election Day Voting

Where do I go to vote? How do I find my polling place?

If you do not have your county "Sample Ballot", which lists your polling place, you can call your county election office, or use that agency's web site to look up your polling place by entering your address (not all web sites offer this feature). If you have the address of your polling place but don't know how to get there, try calling the election office or using an online map and driving directions service such as Mapquest. Your local political party office will probably also be able to help you locate your polling place.

What time do the polls open and close?

Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. on Election Day.

What do I do if I am going to be out of town on Election Day?

Contact your county election office to find out how to cast a Vote-by-Mail ballot.

I've moved since I registered -- can I still vote?

Maybe. You are required to be registered to vote at your current address, and you should re-register to vote whenever you move. If you have moved within the same county since you last registered, you may still be able to vote. If you have moved within fifteen days of an election (after the registration deadline for that election), you can go to your previous polling place to vote on election day, or you can request an absentee ballot.

If you have moved within the same county more than fifteen days prior to an election and have not re-registered by the deadline, you should call your county election office to get the location of your new polling place, or use the polling place look-up feature on that office's web site (if available). You will need to bring two pieces of identification showing your name and new address (one piece is okay if it is your driver's license showing your new address) with you to the polling place, where you will then fill out a new voter registration form and cast what is called a "provisional ballot" (provisional ballots are set aside and not counted until voter eligibility can be confirmed by the election office.)

Please keep in mind that the above applies only to voters who have moved within a particular county, not those who have moved from one county to another, in which case you would need to contact the election office in your new county. You may not be able to vote until you have re-registered at your new address.

Is my employer required to give me time off to vote?

Yes, California law requires that employers give their employees time off to vote in statewide elections if employees do not have time to vote outside of their normal work schedule. The law provides for a maximum of two hours of paid leave for the purposes of voting, and in some cases, employers may require advance notice of the need to take time off to vote. More information about this provision can be found on the Secretary of State's "time off to vote" web page.

Whom do I contact about voter fraud or other voting concerns?

If you have a concern regarding voter fraud, voter intimidation or any other irregularity involving voter registration or voting, please contact either the Secretary of State's Voting Information Hotline at 1-800-345-VOTE, or your county election office.

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Political Districts

How do I find out which political districts I live in?

If you don't know which political districts you reside in, there are a number of ways to find out:

How often are political districts redrawn?

The boundaries of congressional and legislative political districts are redrawn in a process called redistricting that happens every ten years, following the release of updated U.S. Census figures. Historically, redistricting for U.S. House of Representatives, State Assembly and State Senate districts is conducted in California by the state legislature; however beginning in 2011, for the first time a new Citizens Redistricting Commission will draw California legislative district lines. CVF's Redistricting Reform provides additional information about this important change.

Political Party Affiliation

Do I have to join a political party?

On the voter registration form, you will be asked if you want to choose a political party. There are a number of qualified political parties in California. You may choose one of these parties or you may select "Decline to State", which essentially means you are an independent. You may also select "Other" and designate a political party that is not an official party in California (meaning it has not reached the threshold of required number of party members to be considered an official party).

Can I vote for a candidate that belongs to a different political party than the one I belong to?

In the General Election, you can of course vote for any candidate you like. A Primary Election is different. California's current primary system, which is neither "open" nor "closed", is perhaps best called "slightly ajar". Here's the way it works: if you are registered as a member of a political party, you will only be able to vote for candidates in that party's primary election. (For example, a registered Democrat cannot vote in the Republican primary). However, if you are not affiliated with any party, you may still have the option to vote in a party primary by effectively becoming a member of that party for a day.

Each party organization decides whether and how it will allow independent California voters to participate in its primary. (In 2002, for example, the American Independent, Democratic, Natural Law, and Republican parties allowed independents to vote in their primaries, but the other three qualified California political parties did not.)

Check CVF's current election information, consult your sample ballot, or contact your county election office for a list of parties that will allow independent voters to participate in upcoming primary elections. For more information about recent changes to California's primary system, read the February June 29, 2000 issue of CVF-NEWS.

How do I change my party affiliation?

You may change your party affiliation at any time by filling out a new registration form. Be sure to re-register at least fifteen days prior to the next election in order for the change to take effect for that election.

How do I start a new political party?

Political organizations can become qualified parties in California either by reaching a certain threshold of registration, or by petition. Detailed information about how to qualify a political party in California is available on the Secretary of State's web site.

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Registering to Vote

How do I know if I am currently registered to vote?

Shortly after you complete your registration form you should receive a postcard from your county election office saying you've been registered. You do not need to bring this card with you when you go to vote.

All registered voters (with the exception of those who register at the last minute) receive a "Sample Ballot" from their county elections office. Registered voters also receive an official voter information guide from the California Secretary of State. If you do not receive these pamphlets, or if you are otherwise unsure of your registration status, call your county election office to confirm your registration.

How do I register to vote?

To register, you'll need to complete a voter registration form, sometimes called an affidavit. There are many ways to get the form:

- pick up a form in person at any number of public offices (library, DMV, post office, county election office, city clerk, etc.)
- call 1-800-345-VOTE to request a form be mailed to you
- call your county election office to request a form be mailed to you
- download a form in English or Spanish from the Secretary of State's web site
-fill out the online registration form at the Secretary of State's web site (it will be printed and mailed to you for your signature)

Additionally, many campaigns and political parties send out staff and volunteers to register voters at malls and other public places. You may request a voter registration form from these people too. The law requires them to supply you with a form regardless of which political party you want to register with, so don't be misled by signs that say "Republicans Register Here" or "Democrats Register Here". You can also register to vote when you renew your driver's license with the DMV. The deadline to register to vote in the November election is October 18th. Your form must be signed, dated and postmarked by that deadline.

Who is eligible to vote?

You must be 18 years of age and a U.S. citizen to vote in California. (17 year olds may register to vote if they will be 18 by Election Day.) Legal residents of California who are not U.S. citizens, and illegal California residents are not eligible to register or vote. Convicted felons currently serving a prison term or on parole are not eligible to register or vote. A California driver's license is not required in order to vote.

What is the deadline for registering to vote?

You must register to vote by the 15th day before an election in order to be eligible to vote. If you register or reregister at least 29 days prior to the election, you will receive a Sample Ballot in the mail from your county election office; if you register between 29 and 15 days prior to the election, you will receive a Sample Ballot only if the county has time to process your registration before mailing the Sample Ballots. Extra Sample Ballots will be available at all polling places. Your registration form must be signed, dated and postmarked by the registration deadline. If you have questions about the registration deadline, contact your county election office.

Can I register to vote over the Internet?

It is not possible to register to vote via the Internet at this time. You can fill out a voter registration form at the Secretary of State's web site, wait for it to arrive in the mail, sign it, and send it back to complete the registration process. The Secretary of State recommends using this online registration feature up to but no later than one month prior to the registration deadline (so there is time to get your form and send it back in the mail by the registration deadline.)

Some web sites offer so-called "online voter registration," but just like the Secretary of State's online process, you will have to wait for the form to be mailed to you and then mail it back before the registration is official. If you choose this option, we recommend that you carefully read the site's privacy policy, so that you are aware of how the site plans to use your personal information, other than to register you to vote.

How do I fill out the registration form?

The voter registration forms ask for basic information, including your name, street address, mailing address (if different), birthdate, the county in which you reside, and your place of birth (U.S. state or foreign country). The form also asks for your driver's licence number, email address and phone number; although you are not required to provide this information, a phone number will help your county clerk contact you if there are any problems with your form. For information about choosing a political party affiliation, see the section above.

You will also be asked if you have been registered to vote in California before. This information helps the county election official remove your old registration information and keeps the election rolls clean of "dead wood". If you have forgotten your previous address, or party affiliation, that's okay - just fill out this section of the form to the best of your ability.

Be sure to sign and date your form! County election officials cannot, and will not process registration forms that are not dated and signed.

You are not required to provide your social security number when registering to vote. There is a stub on the bottom of your form that serves as a receipt. You should hold onto this stub until you receive confirmation that you have been registered. The stub has a number on it that matches a number on your card, and can be used to track a lost or misplaced registration form.

If I register to vote, will I be called for jury duty?

Juries are drawn from a variety of public records, including voter registration and DMV records, among others. You could be called to serve on a jury whether or not you are registered to vote.

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Voting Equipment

Can I vote over the Internet?

Although online voting experiments (from county-owned, polling place terminals only) were conducted in some California counties during the November 2000 election, online voting is not approved as an official voting method in California at this time. The debate about voting over the Internet and related security and voter privacy issues, continues; for more information on this topic, read the Secretary of State's Internet Voting Task Force Report and visit the voting technology section of CVF's web site.

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Voting for Candidates and Measures

What if I've voted absentee for a candidate who has since withdrawn from the race?

A candidate's public withdrawal from an election, once his or her name is on the ballot, makes no difference in terms of how votes for that person are counted. If absentee ballots are cast for such a candidate, they will still be counted like all other votes. This means that a candidate who has "withdrawn" from the race, could theoretically still win the race.

What are the rules for write-in candidates?

In order to be eligible to receive write-in votes and have them actually count, a candidate must file a written statement declaring him or herself to be an official write-in candidate for a particular election. Write-in votes cast for someone who has not filed as an official write-in candidate will not be counted. If a voter misspells the name of candidate, or omits part of the candidate's name or the office for which the candidate is running, the vote may still count depending upon a number of different factors -- the text of the regulations that specify how write-in votes are counted are included in a description of the qualifications of write-in candidates (in PDF) on the Secretary of State's web site.

What is the percentage of the vote required to pass local and state measures?

All statewide propositions pass or fail on a straight majority vote, regardless of topic or type of ballot measure. At the local level, some measures require a majority vote to pass and others, such as school bond measures, require 55% of the vote in order to pass. (The percentage required to pass local school bonds used to be 66%, but that changed with the passage of statewide Proposition 39 in November 2000.) Local tax increases for a specific use must receive two-thirds of the vote to pass; this threshold was established with the passage of Proposition 218 in November 1996.

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This page was first published on August 6, 1996 | Last updated on April 27, 2010
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