AP18:082
For Immediate Release
June 1, 2018
Contact:
SOS Press Office
(916) 653-6575
Voter Tips for California’s June 5, 2018 Statewide Direct Primary Election
SACRAMENTO – Secretary of State Alex Padilla has provided a list of election-related tips for voters as they prepare for the June 5, 2018, Statewide Direct Primary Election.
Plan for Election Day
Polls will be open from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm on Election Day. If you are in line at 8:00 pm when the polls close, you have a right to cast a ballot. If you have a vote-by-mail ballot, you can drop it off at any polling place, drop box or Vote Center in your county on Election Day.
You Can Vote Early or Drop Off Your Vote-by-Mail Ballot in Person
Counties offer locations to vote in person or drop off your vote-by-mail ballot in person ahead of Election Day. The Secretary of State’s website has a list of early voting locations and ballot drop-off sites by county.
If you are in the counties of Madera, Napa, Nevada, Sacramento and San Mateo, you have the option to return your ballot by mail, deliver it to secured drop boxes throughout the county or cast it in person at a Vote Center.
At any Vote Center, voters may vote in-person, drop-off their ballots, receive a replacement ballot, vote using accessible voting machines, access voting materials in multiple languages, update voter registration as well as complete same day registration. You can locate the nearest drop box or Vote Center location through our website: http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voters-choice-act/
Find Your Polling Place
You can look up your polling place using the voter information tool on the Secretary of State’s website: http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/polling-place/
Conditional Voter Registration
Conditional Voter Registration is a new safety net for Californians who missed the May 21 deadline to register to vote or update their voter registration information for the June 5, 2018, Statewide Direct Primary. While you may not be able to vote at your regular polling place or vote by mail, there is still an opportunity to cast a ballot by completing the conditional voter registration process.
Eligible citizens who missed the May 21 deadline can go to their county elections office or a designated satellite location to register and vote conditionally. Their ballots will be processed once the county elections office has completed the voter registration verification process. Voters can complete the conditional voter registration process from May 22 all the way through Election Day on June 5.
A list of conditional voter registration locations, as reported by county elections officials, can be found on our Early Voting and Vote-by-Mail Drop-off Locations page.
Special Note: Voters in the five counties adopting the Voter's Choice Act--Madera, Napa, Nevada, Sacramento, and San Mateo--can access conditional voter registration at any Vote Center in their county. Voters in these counties can find a list of Vote Centers using the My Voter Status Tool at https://voterstatus.sos.ca.gov/
Check Your Voter Registration Status
You can check the status of your registration, see where you are registered, find out if you are a vote-by-mail voter and find your polling location using the MyVoterStatus tool.
Need Time Off to Vote?
California law allows workers to take up to two hours off work, without a loss of pay, to vote if they are unable to do so during non-work hours. The law requires workers to notify their employers two working days before the election if they need to take time off to vote. http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/time-vote-notices/
Respect the Polling Place
In California it is illegal to impede or interfere with anyone’s right to vote. Do not campaign for votes, wear campaign materials, coerce, influence, discourage, or interfere with any voter within 100 feet of the polling place.
Be Informed
The Voter Information Guide is mailed to every voting household in California and is available in ten languages: English, Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Khmer, Tagalog, Thai, and Vietnamese. You can view the Voter Information Guide online at: http://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/
The Secretary of State’s “Quick Guide to Props” tool provides voters a helpful list of the top ten campaign contributions, funding totals for each of the five statewide propositions, as well as a brief nonpartisan analysis. The campaign finance elements are dynamic and are updated daily.
Know Your Rights
The California Voter Bill of Rights is printed in the Voter Information Guide, which was sent to every voting household in the state, and will also be posted in every polling place on Election Day. The Voter Bill of Rights is available online in ten languages: http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-bill-rights/
Watch a video outlining the California Bill of Rights: https://youtu.be/USFLmHvWKys
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