Want to vote in the California presidential primary? Better check your registration
If you want to vote in the 2020 presidential primary, you might want to check your voter status.
Voting in California’s political primaries began on Feb. 3, but the 5.3 million Californians who are listed as “No Party Preference” may be surprised to find no presidential primary candidates on their ballot.
That’s because California’s political parties have their own ballots.
Some of those parties, like the Democratic, Libertarian and American Independent parties, allow “No Party Preference” voters to request a crossover ballot. Others, like the Republican, Green and Peace and Freedom parties, do not.
“We are encouraging everyone, regardless of party, regardless of how they’ve registered, to check their voter status,” said Sam Mahood, spokesman for the California Secretary of State’s Office.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a law that allows voters to change their party preference or residence up to election day without having to re-register to vote. That means a person can change from No Party Preference to Republican, so that they can vote in the closed Republican primary, without having to completely re-register.
You may request a ballot by mail, but that request must come in no later than Feb. 25, 2020.
You can check your voter registration status at voterstatus.sos.ca.gov. You can also re-register your party affiliation by visiting registertovote.ca.gov.
The deadline for regular registration is Feb. 18. After that, you may register as a conditional voter and receive a provisional ballot.
The final day to vote is March 3. Mail-in ballots must be postmarked that day and must be received by your county elections office no later than March 6.
This story was originally published December 10, 2019 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Want to vote in the California presidential primary? Better check your registration."
