Voter Registration

Voter Eligibility

• 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, and
• Not currently found mentally incompetent to vote by a court.

When to Reregister

Voters should complete a new voter registration application, commonly called reregistering, when any of the following changes to their voter registration occur:

• Residential address. 
• Name (first, middle, and/or last).
• Political party affiliation.
  

Registration Deadline 

The deadline to register or re-register to vote for any election is 11:59:59 pm Pacific Standard Time (PST) on the 15th calendar day before that election.

If the deadline has passed, voters can still:

• Submit a voter registration application to be processed for future elections.
  
• Conditionally register to vote and vote a conditional ballot at the Office of Elections, located at2426 6^th Street, in Eureka.
    
• Conditionally register to vote and vote a conditional ballot at a polling place on Election Day.

Voters who register after the 29th day before an election will not receive a sample ballot booklet or other election information or materials by mail until the following election.

Voter Privacy

Information provided on voter registration applications will be used by the Office of Elections to provide official election-related information and materials enabling voters to participate in the election process. Information and materials may include, but is not limited to, confirmation of voter registration, changes in polling place locations, and issues and candidates that will appear on an election ballot.

Information on your voter registration affidavit will be used by elections officials to send you official information on the voting process, such as the location of your polling place and the issues and candidates that will appear on the ballot. Commercial use of voter registration information is prohibited by law and is a misdemeanor. Voter information may be provided to a candidate for office, a ballot measure committee, or other persons for election, scholarly, journalistic, political, or governmental purposes, as determined by the Secretary of State. Driver’s license and social security numbers, or your signature as shown on your voter registration card, cannot be released for these purposes. If you have any questions about the use of voter information or wish to report suspected misuse of such information, please call the Secretary of State’s Voter Protection and Assistance Hotline at 800-345-VOTE or 916-657-2166.

Certain voters facing life-threatening situations may qualify for confidential voter status. For more information, please contact the Secretary of State’s Safe At Home program or visit the Secretary of State’s Internet Web site.

Permissible Uses of Voter Information(Elections Code, Section 2157.2)