Have you registered to vote before? Here’s how, plus how to check your registration

Laura S. Diaz
·6 min read

We all are navigating an election year – again – and maybe a few, some or many things have changed in your life since the 2020 and 2022 election cycles.

Maybe you moved to California from a different state, changed addresses, got married and changed your name, recently turned 18 or want to check on your voter registration status.

Voter registration processes can change between states and counties, so The Bee navigated through the California Secretary of State’s website to collect key details, dates and links for you to be aware of this election cycle.

Here are answers on when, where, and how to register to vote:

Who can vote in California?

To vote in the Golden State, according to the California Secretary of State, you must be:

  • A U.S. citizen and 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.

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

  • Registered to vote.

For more details about the voting rights of people who have been incarcerated, you can visit the California Secretary of State’s Voting Rights Restored webpage at https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voting-rights-restored.

For people subjected to a conservatorship, you can find more details about their voting rights in the California Secretary of State’s Voting Rights: Persons Subject to Conservatorship webpage at https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voting-info/conservatorship.

What if you are a dual citizen?

As long as one of your citizenships is American – meaning you don’t need or have a visa, residency permit or immigration protection – you can register to vote.

What about people with visas and DACA?

Non-citizens, including permanent legal residents, cannot vote in federal, state, and most local elections, according to the federal government.

That means that people who have any type of visa or residency permit, like Green Cards, or immigration protections, like DACA, cannot vote.

Voter Eva Frias casts her ballot at the drop box at the Fresno County Elections Office in downtown Fresno, March 3, 2020.
Voter Eva Frias casts her ballot at the drop box at the Fresno County Elections Office in downtown Fresno, March 3, 2020.

How do you know if you are registered to vote?

You might have already registered to vote at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

California offers its residents the opportunity to register to vote when issuing their driver’s license, identification card or change of address transaction online, by mail or in person at DMV offices.

Usually, you are automatically registered to vote by the California Secretary of State through the DMV unless you choose to opt out of automatic voter registration.

You can search and check your registration status online at https://voterstatus.sos.ca.gov.

How do you register to vote?

You can register in three different ways: in person, by mail or online.

In-person typically happens automatically at the DMV, through the California Motor Voter program. You can also go to your county’s elections office and register there.

If you want to fill out the form and mail it without going to a county’s elections office and/or have to file something at the DMV soon that can register you automatically, you can pick up a paper voter registration form at your county elections office, nearest library, DMV office offices, or U.S. post office.

You can also call the Secretary of State’s Elections Division at 1-800-345-8683 to have a registration form mailed.

Online, you can register to vote directly with the California Secretary of State’s office by completing the form digitally at https://registertovote.ca.gov.

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What do you need to register to vote?

Whether you are applying online, in person or through mail, you will need to have the following information on hand:

  • Your California driver’s license or California identification card number.

  • The last four digits of your social security number.

  • Your date of birth.

  • The address at which you live in.

  • The address at which you receive your mail.

  • The U.S. state or country you were born in.

If you have registered to vote before and are updating your registration, you’ll also need to have handy your former full name, past address and registered political affiliation. If your name and address have not changed – and are only changing your political affiliation – you can continue to provide your current contact information.

If you have questions about how to fill in your voter registration form, the state created PDF guides in different languages to help you fill out the form. You can find them online at https://bit.ly/3U9sPwE.

When do I need to register?

There are two elections this year – the primary on March 5 and the general on Nov. 5 – and they each have their own registration deadline.

You need to register to vote at least 15 days before Election Day, so:

  • By Tuesday, Feb. 20, for the primary election.

  • By Monday, Oct. 21, for the general election.

If you are registering to vote by mail, your registration form needs to be postmarked by these deadlines, according to the California Secretary of State.

You are not required to participate in the primary election to participate in the general election: you can participate in one, the other or (preferably) both.

Election worker Lori Loera, right, helps voters Shirley King and her son LeeAndre Hannah record their election ballots after voting in-person at the Fresno County elections office in downtown Fresno prior to Tuesday’s general election, on Monday, Nov. 7, 2022.
Election worker Lori Loera, right, helps voters Shirley King and her son LeeAndre Hannah record their election ballots after voting in-person at the Fresno County elections office in downtown Fresno prior to Tuesday’s general election, on Monday, Nov. 7, 2022.

What if I register to vote late? Can I still participate in the election?

Yes, California does allow for Same Day Voter Registration, also known as Conditional Voter Registration.

This process can be completed in person at your county elections office, polling place, or vote center. Same Day or Conditional voter ballots will be processed and counted once the county elections office has completed the voter registration verification process.

Fresno County’s Clerk/Registrar of Voters is located at 2221 Kern St., is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.., and shares voter resources and election information at https://bit.ly/3tTEJAg.

For other counties, you can find your elections office at https://bit.ly/3SdqO01.

If I registered once, do I need to register again?

No.

If you register to vote for the primary election, you do not have to register again – once your registration is approved for any election, you are good to go.

However, if you have changed your contact information and/or address since you last voted, then you need to update your registration. You can also update your registration if you wish to change your political party affiliation or register with no party preference.

Can I register to vote in Spanish?

Yes, and in several other languages, too.

The California Secretary of State offers online voter registration in Hindi, Chinese, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Tagalog, Thai and Vietnamese in addition to English and Spanish. You can access the online registration form at https://registertovote.ca.gov.

If you need assistance finding a paper form in your desired language, you can approach your county elections to ask for help, or call the Secretary of State at 1-800-345-8683 or email at https://bit.ly/3S8tuvD.

What do you want to know about life in Fresno? Ask our journalism team your top-of-mind questions via email at news@fresnobee.com.