Register to Vote

Register to Vote Now

You can apply to register to vote right now by filling in the online application. If you have any questions, visit Frequently Asked Questions or contact the Secretary of State’s Elections Division at (800) 345-8683 or by email. If you are enrolled in California’s confidential address program, Safe At Home, please do not apply to register to vote using this site. Contact the Safe At Home program toll-free at (877) 322-5227 or by the Safe At Home email.

Assistance in Other Languages

For a voter registration form in Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Tagalog, Thai, or Vietnamese, visit the Secretary of State’s New Voters web page.

Pick Up a Voter Registration Application

You can also pick up a paper voter registration application 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.

Military and Overseas Voters

Military and overseas voters are United States citizens who are members of the Uniformed Services (on active duty) and their eligible dependents, members of the Merchant Marine and their eligible dependents, commissioned corps of the Public Health Service, commissioned corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or United States citizens residing outside the United States. To apply to register to vote, receive your elections materials, and vote, you must apply for a special absentee ballot by filling out the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA).

Qualifications

To register to vote in California, you must be:

A United States citizen,
A resident of California,
18 years of age or older on Election Day,
Not in prison or in county jail (serving a state prison sentence or serving a term of more than one year in jail for a defined “low-level” felony), or on parole, post release community supervision, or post-sentencing probation for a felony conviction (for more information on the rights of people who have been incarcerated, please see the Secretary of State’s Voting Guide for Currently or Formerly Incarcerated Californians), and
Not found by a court to be mentally incompetent.

Are You Already Registered to Vote?

To find out if you are currently registered to vote, visit Check Status of Your Voter Registration.

Voter Registration Deadlines

In California, the deadline to register to vote for any election is 15 days before Election Day, so please register early!

Voter Registration Deadlines for Upcoming Elections:

Your registration must be postmarked or submitted electronically no later than: March 12, 2013
(Special Primary Election – SD 32 and SD 40) February 25, 2013

June 3, 2014
(Statewide Direct Primary Election) May 19, 2014

When to Re-Register to Vote

You need to re-register to vote when:

You move to a new permanent residence,
You change your name, or
You change your political party choice.

As a California voter, be aware that local elections in some areas are held on dates that do not coincide with statewide election dates. The 15-day close of registration deadline for these local elections varies depending on the actual date of the election. If you need to know a deadline for a local election, contact your county elections office.

Voter Registration Drives

Anyone distributing voter registration cards in California should be familiar with the rules and regulations for conducting voter registration drives.

Anyone requesting 50 or more voter registration cards from the Secretary of State must complete and submit a Statement of Distribution Form and a plan of distribution to the Secretary of State via mail or fax to:

California Secretary of State
Elections Division
1500 11th Street, 5th Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814
Fax: (916) 653-3214

The Secretary of State’s Elections Division will process the request within 48 hours of receiving the form. For additional assistance, please contact the Secretary of State’s Elections Division at (916) 657-2166

Voter Registration Statistics

The Secretary of State is responsible for producing a statistical report detailing voter registration numbers in California. To view these reports, please go to Voter Registration Statistics.