Mon, Oct 7: Deadline for counties to begin mailing vote-by-mail ballots
Mon, Oct. 7 - Nov. 5: Early Voting Begins: Dates and hours may vary based on where you live
Tue, Oct. 8: All counties must have ballot drop-off locations open for vote-by-mail ballots
Mon, Oct. 21: Online Voter Registration Deadline
Mon, Oct. 21: By Mail Voter Registration Postmarked By Date
Tue, Nov. 5: In-Person Voter Registration Deadline
Tue, Nov. 5: Mail-In Postmarked By Date
Tue, Nov. 5: Mail-In Return in Person Deadline 8:00 PM
Tue, Nov. 12: Mail-In Received By Date
Mon, Oct. 21: Online Voter Registration Deadline
Mon, Oct. 21: By Mail Voter Registration Postmarked By Date
Tue, Nov. 5: In-Person Voter Registration Deadline
In California, the deadline to register to vote by mail or online for any election is 15 days before Election Day, so please register early!
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 in state or federal prison or on parole for the conviction of a felony
Not currently found mentally incompetent to vote by a court
To pre-register to vote in California, you must:
Be 16 or 17 years old, and meet all of the other eligibility requirements to vote.
You will automatically be registered to vote on your 18th birthday.
In-Person Voter Registration:
Same-Day Voter Registration, known as Conditional Voter Registration in state law, is a safety net for Californians who miss the deadline to register to vote or update their voter registration information for an election.
Eligible citizens who need to register or re-register to vote within 14 days of an election can complete this process to register and vote at their county elections office, polling place, or vote center. Their ballots will be processed and counted once the county elections office has completed the voter registration verification process.
If you wish to register to vote in a language other than English, visit the Secretary of State's Voter Registration page.
Tue, Oct. 7: Ballot drop-off locations open
Tue, Nov. 5: Mail-In Postmarked By Date
Tue, Nov. 5: Mail-In Return in Person Deadline 8:00 PM
All registered voters in California will receive a ballot by mail.
Mon, Oct. 7 - Nov. 4: Early Voting Sites Open
Secure ballot drop boxes are available in each county. All counties most also have at least one early voting location available at least ten days before Election Day.
Polls are open on Election Day: November 5, 2024 from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
The location of your polling place is printed on the back page of the county Voter Information Guide your county elections official mailed to you.
You can also find your polling place:
By calling (800) 345-VOTE (8683)
Online at www.sos.ca.gov/elections/polling-place
By texting Vote to GOVOTE (468683)
What to Bring:
If you've voted in California before, you don't need to show ID.
If you're a first-time voter who registered by mail, and didn't include your driver's license number, California ID number, or the last 4 digits of your Social Security number on your registration, you may be asked to provide ID when you vote. Acceptable forms include: copy of a recent utility bill, the sample ballot booklet you received from your county elections office or another document sent to you by a government agency, a US passport, driver license, official state identification card, or student identification card showing your name and photograph.
Voters without ID: If you are unable to provide ID, you will be able to vote a provisional ballot.
MYTH: If I leave something blank on my ballot, my ballot won’t be counted.
If a voter doesn’t make a choice for a particular contest, no vote is recorded for that contest only. The rest of the ballot still counts. You can vote for as many or as few contests on your ballot as you choose.
MYTH: Provisional ballots are only counted if there is a close race.
In California, provisional ballots serve as a fail-safe method of ensuring all voters who show up to the polls can cast a ballot. ALL eligible provisional ballots are counted. County elections officials carefully check every provisional ballot to ensure the voter was registered and did not cast a second ballot elsewhere. Due to the additional human review and verification needed for provisional ballots, they are typically counted after Election Day and vote-by-mail ballots.
MYTH: Vote-by-mail ballots are thrown out if they arrive after Election Day.
County elections officials will process and count all valid vote-by-mail ballots that are postmarked on or before Election Day and arrive no later than 17 days after the election. Some counties are offering a new tool called “Where MY Ballot?” that allows voters to track the status of their vote-by-mail ballots. To see if your county is participating, visit: https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-status/wheres-my-ballot/
