Haven’t registered yet? You can still register and vote through Election Day!
While some states in the nation are making it tougher for people to vote - such as North Dakota requiring more voter identification at the polls, or Georgia removing citizens from voter rolls who had hyphenated names, along with those who failed to vote recently - California has moved in the other direction, making it easier for voters to exercise their right to vote, even at the last minute.
Current technology has made this all possible, since it is easier to effectively prevent people from voting twice.
The first time counties had the ability to share voter information so quickly was this past June, just in time for the the 2018 primary election. Previously, voters who missed the 15-day pre-election deadline were disqualified from voting, because those two weeks were then used to check voters’ information.
So it’s still not too late to vote in the November 6 election, even if you didn’t register or forgot to update your address.
Here’s the difference: you can’t vote at a regular polling place or by mail. Instead, you’ll need to go to a local county elections office, fill out a same-day registration card, and then cast a provisional ballot there, on or before Election Day.
As an added convenience, many county elections offices offer extended office hours through Election Day, and will even accept registration and ballots on both Saturday and Sunday.
After you vote, your provisional ballot will be counted after counting the regular ballots. The poll worker can give you information about how to check if your provisional ballot was counted and, if it was not counted, the reason why.
To find an office near you that accepts conditional voter registrations, visit the Secretary of State’s voting website at www.caearlyvoting.sos.ca.gov.
In Los Angeles, the county elections office is:
The Office of the Registrar - Recorder/County Clerk
12400 Imperial Hwy.
Norwalk, CA 90650
Regular hours are between 8am - 5pm.
Call to ask about extended hours before Election Day:
(800) 815-2666
For more information, please go to the California Secretary of State’s Conditional Voter Registration page, at:
https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-registration/conditional-voter-reg/