California

May 18

Am I eligible to vote in California?

If you are a U.S. citizen

A resident of the State of California

18 years of age

Registered to vote.

If you are 16 or 17 and meet the other requirements for voting in California, you can pre-register to vote. On your 18th birthday, you will automatically be registered to vote.

You can register and vote if you are:

Under guardianship due to a disability (unless specifically disqualified)
In a county jail for a misdemeanor, as a condition of probation, while waiting for trial, or while serving a felony jail sentence
On probation, mandatory supervision, post-release community supervision, or federal supervised release

When is California's voter registration deadline?

If you register to vote online, your application must be received at least 15 days before Election Day.

If you register by mail, your voter registration application must be postmarked at least 15 days before Election Day.

If mailing in your ballot, the envelope must be post-marked before or on the day of the election day and no later than 7 days after the election day.

If turning in an absentee ballot by hand, you must turn in the ballot by 8 p.m. on Election Day.

If you are concerned that your ballot will not arrive on time through the mail, you can opt to turn in the ballot by hand on Election Day to any polling location between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m.

If you have not registered before the voter registration deadline, you can still cast a provisional ballot by completing a Conditional Voter Registration application online at RegisterToVote.ca.gov or at your polling place on Election Day.

How do I request an absentee ballot in California?

All county election officials will send vote-by-mail ballots to all registered voters whose status is active.

In order to receive this, make sure to check your voter status or register online with your county website.

California military and overseas voters can use RegisterToVote.ca.gov to request an absentee ballot.

What special accommodations are available?

Accommodations can be made to assist a person in registering to vote, including reading the application form to the prospective voter and helping the person to complete the form.

Accommodations can be made to assist elderly or disabled voters at the polling place, such as:

Providing adequate lighting or additional lighting in the polling station and in the voting booth
Providing a magnifying device
Providing large-grip pens
Providing chairs or benches for persons who cannot stand for long periods of time
Providing sample ballots or instructions in alternate formats or larger type

Under Elections Code Section 14201, some California native counties with a large population of non-native English speakers from a particular language group are required to provide and post sample ballots in non-English languages. County officials are required to provide information on the county website listing all the polling places in the county and the languages of the sample ballots that will be provided to voters at that location. Click here to see the required languages in your county in the 2018 election.

Disability and Mental Competency: California presumes that a person is competent to vote even if he or she is under conservatorship because of a mental illness or developmental disability. In order to be disqualified from voting, a judge or jury must find that there is “clear and convincing evidence" that a person cannot communicate a desire to participate in the voting process and the person is under conservatorship or is gravely disabled.