Representative Image / Courtesy Photo

With less than 10 days away from election day, voters now have more ways to vote. Voting is no longer limited to one day at the polling place, said Joe Kocurekat, Deputy Secretary of State for Communications at a Ethnic Media Services briefing. Regina Brown Wilson, a media entrepreneur and committed advocate for African American-owned news outlets across California moderated the briefing.

Register

Every active, registered voter in participating counties is mailed a ballot 28 days before Election Day. Voters who missed the October 21 online deadline to register have the option for the "same day” voter registration process at their local county elections office or any in-person voting location. Show your identification, fill out a voter registration form and be provided a ballot. If you did register and have a ballot you don’t need to carry an identification card.

All active registered voters will receive two voter information guides: 

• Official Voter Information Guide (state VIG) - contains information about federal and statewide candidates and statewide ballot measures. The state VIG can be accessed electronically in 10 languages at voterguide.sos.ca.gov. 

• County Voter Information Guide - contains a sample of your ballot and information about local candidates and ballot measures, and, for some counties, the location of your polling place. 

More Ways to Vote 

Voters have three ways to return their vote-by-mail ballots: 

1. Mail the ballot

2. Drop the ballot in a secure county ballot drop box

3. Return the ballot to a vote center drop box

 Mail the Ballot

Place the completed vote-by-mail ballot into a mailbox. Ballots must be postmarked by November 5. There is no stamp needed. 

When voters vote-by-mail mark your choices and return the envelope. You must sign the outside of your envelope. Your signature must match the signature on your California Driver’s license or state ID or the signature when you registered to vote.

If you forgot to sign your vote-by-mail ballot your local elections office will reach out to you and attempt to cure it—or compare it to the signature on file when you initially registered to vote.

Sign up to receive updates on the status of your vote-by-mail ballot at wheresmyballot.sos.ca.gov to receive text, email, or voice status alerts.

Drop the ballot in a secure county ballot drop box

Starting 28 days before Election Day, there is at least one drop-off location for every 15,000 registered voters. Drop-off locations are secure, accessible to voters with disabilities, and located as near as possible to public transportation routes.

Drop off the completed vote-by-mail ballot at a secure official drop box in their county or anywhere in the state at any time between October 8 through 8:00 p.m. on November 5.

A complete list of drop box locations can be found on the Secretary of State’s Early Voting and Vote-by-Mail Ballot Drop-off Locations webpage at caearlyvoting.sos.ca.gov. 

Return the ballot to a vote center drop box

Drop off the completed vote-by-mail ballot by 8:00 p.m. on November 5 at any polling place or vote center in the state, or at the voter’s county elections office. 

Voters have the freedom to cast a ballot in-person at any vote center in their county instead of being assigned to a single polling location. Vote centers look and feel like polling places, but provide additional modern features to make voting easy and convenient. 

At any vote center in a participating county, a voter may:

• Vote in-person

• Drop off their ballot

• Get a replacement ballot

• Vote using an accessible voting machine

• Get help and voting material in multiple languages

• Register to vote or update their voter registration

Voters can go online to find their polling place at

sos.ca.gov/elections/voting-resources/county-elections-offices.

Voter Hotlines.

A Voter Information Hotline is available for voters to call if they have additional questions. Language access lines are available in English, plus nine additional languages and TTY/TDD services for hearing impairment.

·(800) 345-VOTE (8683) – English

·(800) 232-VOTA (8682) - Español / Spanish

·(800) 339-2857 - 中文 / Chinese

·(888) 345-2692 - हिन्दी / Hindi

·(800) 339-2865 - 日本語 / Japanese

·(888) 345-4917 - ខ្មរ/ Khmer

·(866) 575-1558 - 한국어 / Korean

·(800) 339-2957 – Tagalog

·(855) 345-3933 - ภาษาไทย/ Thai

·(800) 339-8163 - Việt ngữ / Vietnamese

·711 – TTY/TDD

Can you take someone with you?

Under the California Voters Bill of Rights, you have the right to ask for help casting your vote from anyone you choose except your employer or union representative.

Important deadlines:

November 5: Your vote-by-mail envelope must be postmarked on Election Day November 5th.

November 12: Your vote-by-mail envelope must be received by November 12th to be processed and counted. 

For more information visit: California Secretary of State.