Upcoming Elections, Voter Registration, and Voting in California are all important topics for citizens to understand. To ensure that everyone has the information they need to successfully participate in every election, VOTE411 is committed to providing the necessary resources. The first step to voting in California is to register. This can be done online, by mail, or in person.
Once registered, citizens can request a vote-by-mail ballot. This can be done by completing the vote-by-mail ballot application included in the sample ballot sent by the county elections official prior to each election. Alternatively, citizens can download and complete a vote-by-mail request online. It is important to note that election officials process applications 29 days to 7 days before an election.
If you are voting by mail for the first time and you did not provide your driver's license number, CA identification number, or the last 4 digits of your Social Security number in your registration application, you must provide a photo copy of the above identification with your vote-by-mail request. Other forms of identification include a recent utility bill, the County Voter Information Guide you received from your county elections office, or any other document from a government agency (such as your passport, driver's license, student ID, etc.). If your identity can't be verified, your vote-by-mail ballot won't open. You can track the status of your vote-by-mail ballot by visiting the My Voter Status website and the Where's My Ballot?. If you want to request a vote-by-mail ballot later than 7 days before the election, you will need to apply in person at your county elections office.
Your county elections office can allow you to apply by phone, just call to see if your office allows telephone requests. For information on federal campaign contributions, visit Open Secrets. For information on state campaign contributions, visit your local election board. Information about candidates and local, state, and federal bills may be available on Voter's Edge. All valid vote-by-mail ballots are counted in every California election, regardless of the outcome or closeness of any race. Once your county elections official processes your request, your ballot will be sent to you.
After voting, insert your ballot in the envelope provided and be sure to fill in all the required information on the envelope. You can return your vote-by-mail vote-by-mail ballot by mailing it to your county elections official; returning it in person to a polling place or to your county elections office on Election Day; or authorizing anyone to return the ballot on your behalf. Voters can call or text 844-338-8743 at any time to contact the voter identification helpline Official results are never available on Election Day. Election officials work day and night to count an unprecedented number of ballots, and it is essential that they take the time to ensure that every vote is counted. Mail-in ballots and interim ballots that arrive late will be counted for the following days and weeks. Official election results will be uploaded to the California Secretary of State website as they become available.
California is one of two main states that hold primary elections. In these primary elections, all candidates are on the same ballot and all candidates are listed with their party affiliation. The two best candidates who get the most votes in each race, regardless of their party, will go to the General Election. If you have any questions about your state's primary election, contact your local election officials. Provisional ballots are counted no later than the Thursday after the election until they are completed.
For more information on the provisional vote and information on how to follow up on your provisional ballot, visit your Secretary of State's website. There are many ways voters with disabilities can cast their ballot. This allows them to park as close to the voting area as possible. Election officials will bring them all the voting materials they need to cast their ballot, whether on the sidewalk or in their car. Be sure to check if curbside voting is available at your voting or voting center by contacting your county elections office.
Contact your county elections office for more information on accessible voting machines. For more information, you can use the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) resource. For more information about voting in California, visit the website of your Secretary of State. Public and private employers must give employees time off to vote unless they have two hours of non-working time available or are unable to vote.
Employers can require employees to give advance notice that they will need additional time off to vote and may require that time off be taken at the beginning or end of an employee's shift. Voting machine systems used in California are optical scanning and DRE (Direct Recording Electronic). Some of these devices will display all candidates and ballot options on a large screen often with these big screen devices you press a button next to the name of the candidate you want to vote for (or yes or no in a bill). In other DREs (Direct Recording Electronic), the screen is configured to display pages where on every screen or page there will probably be one thing to vote for.
Often these small screen devices have a touchscreen where you tap the screen next to the name of the person you want to vote for while other devices have a keyboard and some have both so you can type or tap out who you want to vote for then press a button tap the screen or enter something on the keyboard when finished. VOTE411 is committed to ensuring that voters have all of the information they need for every election whether local state or federal so that our laws and policies reflect our communities' values and beliefs. As with any labor market there is also an excess of vacancies in both California Legislature and Congress so it is important for citizens understand how their votes count.
