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Register by October 19

The deadline has passed. 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.

Facts · Read Oct 26

Check you are registered. If you are not, do it now.

Go to California registration →

Vote early

Your county sets the days.

Early voting is run county by county. The state calendar says early voting sites begin opening October 5, 2026, and counties under the Voter's Choice Act open vote centers by October 24, 2026. Find your county's early voting and drop-off locations at the state lookup.

Look up your early voting days →Facts · Read Oct 26

Election Day, November 3. Last resort.

Where to vote

Find your polling placeThe state Find Your Polling Place page. My Voter Status at voterstatus.sos.ca.gov also shows your polling place.Read October 26, 2026 from California Secretary of State.

Registered at home but living somewhere else?What California says to do when the address you are registered at is not the address you live at.

We have not confirmed California’s rule for this from an official source yet, so we are not printing one. Check which address you are registered at, then ask that county election office what to do.

Check where you are registered

All the datesRegistering online, by mail and in person, checking your registration, your polling place, and when polls close in California.

Register by

October 19, 2026

Monday, October 19, 2026, which the state says is 15 days before Election Day. After that, Same Day Voter Registration is available in person through Election Day.

Facts · Read Oct 26

Register online

Checking. Our last check of this is out of date, so we are checking it again.

Register by mail

Postmarked by October 19, 2026

The state says a paper application must be postmarked or hand-delivered to your county elections office at least 15 days before the election.

Facts · Read Oct 26

Register in person

By November 3, 2026

After the October 19 deadline, Same Day Voter Registration runs October 20 through November 3, 2026: you conditionally register in person and vote a provisional ballot.

Facts · Read Oct 26

Register and vote the same day

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 are counted once the county elections office has completed the voter registration verification process.

Facts · Read Oct 26

Check you are registered

Check your registration

The state calls this My Voter Status.

Facts · Read Oct 26

Register online

California’s online registration

The state online application, in English, Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Tagalog, Thai, and Vietnamese.

Facts · Read Oct 26

Early, in person

It varies by county. Look up yours

Early voting is run county by county. The state calendar says early voting sites begin opening October 5, 2026, and counties under the Voter's Choice Act open vote centers by October 24, 2026. Find your county's early voting and drop-off locations at the state lookup.

Facts · Read Oct 26

Find your polling place

Look it up

The state Find Your Polling Place page. My Voter Status at voterstatus.sos.ca.gov also shows your polling place.

Facts · Read Oct 26

Polls close

8:00 p.m.

Statewide, 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Election Day.

Facts · Read Oct 26
What to bringThe ID California accepts, and what to do if you do not have one.

ID your state accepts

  • In most cases, no. California does not generally require voters to show identification at the polls.

You may need to show ID only if you are voting for the first time in a federal election, you registered by mail or online, and you did not provide your California ID number or Social Security number when registering. Poll workers may only request ID if the voter list clearly indicates it is required.

Facts · Read Oct 26

If you do not have one

You have the right to vote if you are a registered voter even if your name is not on the list. You will vote using a provisional ballot. Your vote will be counted if elections officials determine that you are eligible to vote. Every individual has the right to cast a provisional ballot even if he or she does not provide the documentation.

From the California Voter Bill of Rights.

Facts · Read Oct 26

Carry a second document

  • California Driver's License or State ID card
  • U.S. Passport
  • Student or Military ID
  • Utility Bill
  • Bank Statement
  • Paycheck or Government Check
  • Official mail from a government agency (for example, a sample ballot booklet)

What the state accepts, photo or non-photo, from a first-time voter whose ID is required.

Facts · Read Oct 26

Make the plan

Three taps. No account. It stays on this phone.

When you will vote
How you will get there
Who you are bringing

Roll Call

Lock your date, bring your people, and see how your side is doing.

Go to Roll Call

Who runs your election

The California Secretary of State administers elections in California. Your county or parish election office runs the polling places, counts the ballots, and answers questions about your own ballot. They are the people to call, and the ones whose answer is final.

Statewide offices are the ones every voter in California votes on, and every ballot counts the same from any precinct in the state. District seats are drawn on a map, so where you live decides which of those you vote on.

Some years a ballot also asks voters to change the rules of voting itself. Those questions tend to cover:

  • what counts as ID at the polls or with a mail ballot
  • how early voting and mail voting work, and by when
  • how districts get drawn and who draws them
  • how the election office itself is run and funded

We do not tell you what is on your ballot or what to make of it. Your sample ballot carries the official wording, written by the state. Read it at the California Secretary of State.

Mail, honestlyVoting by mail works. It also has rules, and the rules are where ballots get lost.

Your dates are above: when to ask for the ballot, when it has to be back, what happens if a signature is questioned.

  • Sign exactly the way you signed when you registered.
  • Send it back early, not on the last day.
  • Would rather not trust the mail? Check the early in-person window above and go in person.

Who can vote by mail

Any registered voter. No excuse needed.

Any registered voter may vote using a vote-by-mail ballot instead of going to the polls on Election Day.

Facts · Read Oct 26

Ask for your ballot by

Nothing to ask for. California mails a ballot to every registered voter.

County elections officials mail vote-by-mail ballots to all active registered voters, so there is nothing to request. Check your registration with My Voter Status.

Facts · Read Oct 26

It has to be back by

November 3, 2026

Mailed ballots must be postmarked by Election Day, November 3, 2026, and received within 7 days; the state calendar prints November 10, 2026. A ballot returned to a drop-off location, a county elections office, or a polling place must be in by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day.

Facts · Read Oct 26

Where to drop it off

Drop off your completed ballot in the return envelope at a secure official drop box in your county at any time between October 5 through the close of polls on November 3. You can also drop it off at a polling place, vote center, or county elections office by 8:00 p.m. on November 3.
Facts · Read Oct 26

Someone else returning it

Anyone may return your ballot for you, as long as they do not get paid on a per ballot basis.
Facts · Read Oct 26

Track your ballot

Track it

The state calls this "Where's My Ballot?". It is available in all 58 counties.

Facts · Read Oct 26

If your signature is questioned

If there is an issue with your signature, your county elections office will notify you by mail, phone, email, or through the state's Where's My Ballot? tool. To fix it, follow the instructions provided by your county, which include completing a form to verify your signature.
Facts · Read Oct 26
The lineIf the line is long, that is not a reason to leave. It is a reason to stay.

Bring water. Bring a charger. Bring a chair if you can carry one, a book, and a friend. Check your bag rules with your county first. If you are in line when the polls close, stay in line: your state decides what happens next, and every state page here prints its own rule in its own words.

  • Water
  • A charger
  • A chair if you can
  • Something to read
  • A friend

If you are in line when polls close in California

You have the right to vote if you are still in line when the polls close.

From the California Voter Bill of Rights.

Facts · Read Oct 26

Time off to vote

If you do not have sufficient time outside of working hours to vote, you can take as much time as you need to vote, but only a maximum of two hours is paid. Employers may require advance notice and may require the time to be taken at the beginning or end of your shift.
Facts · Read Oct 26
Your rightsA provisional ballot, help if you need it, and the number to call from the line.

You can vote a provisional ballot

If your name is not on the list, or you do not have what they ask for, ask for a provisional ballot. In a federal election you have the right to cast one. Ask what you must do afterwards for it to count, and write it down.

You can bring someone to help

You can bring a person of your choice to help you vote, with limits your state sets on who it cannot be. Ask the poll worker for the rule in writing.

Language and disability assistance

Polling places must be accessible, and many places must provide help in other languages. Ask for the accessible machine, the curbside option, or the language help you need.

If someone tries to move you off your vote

Questions about your citizenship, a crowd following you in, someone filming you at the door, a person telling you that you cannot vote: none of that decides your vote. Do not leave the line. Call the hotline from where you stand.

Sources: the California Secretary of State, and the Election Protection coalition for the hotlines below.

Call from the line

If anyone tells you that you cannot vote, or you are turned away, or something feels wrong: do not leave. Call.

Election Protection, administered by the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Numbers confirmed against their own site on September 19, 2026.

Your state election office is the final word. We print what its own pages say, with the date we read them.

A few of California’s details are still being confirmed with its election office. Those are marked Checking and link straight to the state.

Read on October 26, 2026 from your state election office, checked by AI against the California Secretary of State pages. California Secretary of State is the final word. See something wrong? Report it.

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