Show All Answers

1. Who can register to vote?

To register to vote in California, you must be:

• A United States citizen and a resident of California,
• 18 years old or older on Election Day,
• Not currently serving a state or federal prison term for the conviction of a felony (for more information, please see Voting Rights: Persons with a Criminal History), and
• Not currently found mentally incompetent to vote by a court (for more information, please see Voting Rights: Persons Subject to Conservatorship).

2. Who can pre-register to vote?

To pre-register to vote in California, you must:

• Be 16 or 17 years old, and
• Meet all of the other requirements to vote

You will automatically be registered to vote on your 18th birthday.

3. How do I register to vote?

You may submit your voter registration application online at RegisterToVote.ca.gov. You can also pick up a paper application at your county elections office, any Department of Motor Vehicles field office, and many post offices. To have an application mailed to you, call your county elections office or the Secretary of State's toll-free Voter Hotline at (800) 345-VOTE (8683).

4. What is the deadline to register to vote?

The deadline to register to vote is 15 days prior to Election Day, often called E-15. You must submit the voter registration application by midnight on the registration deadline day. A timestamp will be attached to your online voter registration application. If you register to vote using a paper application, it must be postmarked or hand-delivered to your county elections office by E-15.

5. I have just moved. Am I required to re-register?

Your voter registration should always reflect your current residence. However, if you have moved from your home into a temporary residence that you do not intend to use as your permanent residence, you can continue to use your prior permanent residence where you were previously registered to vote as your address for the purpose of voting.

6. I did not vote in the last election. Do I need to re-register?

In general, you do not need to re-register because you are registered to vote for as long as you remain at the same address. However, there are cases in which voter registration can be cancelled if a voter has not voted in several consecutive general elections.

7. Do I have to be registered to vote in order to register other voters?

No, you do not need to be a registered voter in order to register other people to vote.

8. I registered at the Department of Motor Vehicles, but my county elections office says I'm not registered. What can I do?

Contact your county elections official and provide them with any documentation you may have to help establish when and where you registered. In many cases your county elections official may be able to verify the potential registration through the Department of Motor Vehicles.

9. Where do I send my voter registration form after I fill it out?

If you have downloaded a voter registration form from the Secretary of State's web page, it will be pre-addressed to go to your county elections official for quicker processing. Statewide forms are sent to the Secretary of State's office, which in turn must forward them to the appropriate county elections official.

10. How many voter registration affidavits can I get if I want to register people in my community?

There is no limit to the number of voter registration affidavits a person may obtain. However, depending on the number of cards the Secretary of State or a county elections official has on hand and the volume of requests they are receiving, the Secretary of State and county elections officials may ask a requestor to take fewer cards than they asked for and to return later should they need additional cards. The Secretary of State does require the requester to complete a Voter Registration Card Statement of Distribution form and a county elections official may require a person who requests cards from their office to do something similar.

11. How can I cancel my California voter registration?

To cancel your voter registration, you must contact your county elections office.