Voting in Person

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Remember: Every registered voter in California will receive a ballot in the mail a month before the election. You can choose to mail back your ballot, drop it off, or you can vote in person. Your in-person voting location may be different than the one you usually visit.

Voting at your polling place on Election Day

At in-person Voting Locations, you can:

  • Vote in person
  • Drop off your completed ballot
  • Vote with an accessible voting machine
  • Get help and voting materials in multiple languages.

How do I vote at the polling place or vote center in person?

  • Polling places are open from 7 AM to 8 PM on Election Day. Visit the Secretary of State's website to look up your polling place.
  • Early voting, starting before Election Day, will be available in some locations. Find Early Voting and Ballot Dropbox locations at caearlyvoting.sos.ca.gov.

In-Person Voting Tip

  • If you choose to vote in person, it may help to bring the ballot that was mailed to you.
  • If you don’t bring your mailed ballot, some counties will require you to vote using a provisional ballot that will be counted once elections officials check that you are eligible to vote.
  • If you live in one of the following “Voter’s Choice” counties, you can get a regular ballot at any Vote Center, even if you didn’t bring the ballot that was mailed to you: Alameda, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Fresno, Kings, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Merced, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Riverside, Sacramento, San Benito, San Diego, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Tuolumne, Ventura, and Yolo. For more information check the California Secretary of State's website.


How do I find my polling place?

  • Visit VotersEdge.org and provide your voting address to get started. Your polling location is printed in the Voting Info section of this site.
  • You can find your polling place location on the back of the Voter Information Guide mailed to you by your county; or,
  • Visit the Secretary of State's website to look up your polling place.
  • You can contact your County Elections Office to find your polling place.
  • You can text "Vote" to GOVOTE (468683); or
  • You can call (800) 345-VOTE (8683) and choose option 5.

What are the basic steps for voting in person?

Go to the registration table. Say your name and address and sign the list of voters. A poll worker will give you a ballot.

For paper ballots

  • Mark (fill out) your ballot by following the instructions.
  • Tear off the stub at the top of the ballot. You may use this stub later to check that your ballot was counted.
  • You will place your ballot in an envelope or folder, or fold it if instructed by your county.
  • Cast your ballot by following the procedures required by your county.
  • Put your ballot into either a ballot box or a scanner if your polling location uses a scanner.

For touchscreen voting machines

Not all California counties use the same type of touchscreen voting machines.

  • The poll worker will give you either a unique passcode or a computer memory card to gain access to the type of touchscreen in your county.
  • Follow the instructions on the machine.
  • If you have questions, ask a poll worker.

VOTERS' RIGHTS: Read the "Voters' Rights" section for more information about your rights.

COMPLAINTS OR COMPLIMENTS: If you have any complaints (or compliments) about the voting process speak to the person in charge at the polling place and contact your County Elections Official. To report suspected fraud or misuse of election information, call the Secretary of State's Voter Hotline at (800) 345-VOTE (8683).

Provisional Ballot

A provisional ballot is a regular ballot that is put inside a provisional envelope.

Who must vote a provisional ballot?

Voters who:

  • Do not appear on the list of voters at the polling place.
  • Moved into a new precinct and did not update their registration.
  • Registered by mail, but did not provide a CA driver's license number, CA ID number, or the last 4 digits of their Social Security Number when they registered.
  • Return vote-by-mail ballots to the polls without an envelope.
  • Vote by mail, but decide that they would prefer to vote in person and do not bring their vote-by-mail ballot to turn in at the polling place.
  • Register too late for their names to be printed on the list of voters.

For a more extensive list of people who must vote with a provisional ballot, check the California Secretary of State.

Are all provisional ballots counted?

If voters are eligible to vote and vote provisionally, their ballots will be counted. Read more about provisional voting at the California Secretary of State's website.

What if I go to the wrong polling place and have to vote a provisional ballot, will my ballot still be counted?

Firstly, you must always vote in the county where you are registered to vote. If you're in the right county but the wrong polling place, then all of the candidates and measures that are on the ballot you were supposed to vote on, if you had gone to the correct location, will be counted.

But any contests and measures that are not also on the ballot at your correct polling place will not be counted.

How are provisional ballots handled?

  • Fill out your name and current address on the provisional envelope and sign it.
  • After the polls close, the ballot is returned to the election office, where the information on the envelope is verified against the voter registration records.
  • If the information that the voter has written on the envelope matches, then the ballot is removed from the envelope and counted.

Can I check the status of my provisional ballot?

You may contact your county elections office to learn whether your provisional ballot was counted and if it was not counted, the reason why.

Early Voting

In-person

You may be able to vote in person either at your County Elections Office or at another early voting location before Election Day, some up to 29 days prior. Some early voting locations are also open through Election Day. Check here for a list of early voting and ballot drop-off locations in your county.

In-Person Voting Tip

  • If you choose to vote in person, it may help to bring the ballot that was mailed to you.
  • If you don’t bring your mailed ballot, some counties will require you to vote using a provisional ballot that will be counted once elections officials check that you are eligible to vote.
  • If you live in one of the following “Voter’s Choice” counties, you can get a regular ballot at any Vote Center, even if you didn’t bring the ballot that was mailed to you: Alameda, Amador, Calaveras, Butte, El Dorado, Fresno, Kings, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Merced, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Riverside, Sacramento, San Benito, San Diego, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Tuolumne, Ventura, and Yolo. For more information check the California Secretary of State's website.
  • In "Voter's Choice counties" your neighborhood polling locations may no longer be open. Instead, you can vote at any Vote Center. Vote Centers will start opening two Saturdays before the election and stay open through Election Day.

Drop off Your Ballot

Follow the instructions in Vote by Mail (below) to fill out your ballot and envelope.

If you decide to hand in your ballot instead of mailing it, you must drop it off no later than 8 PM on Tuesday, Election Day.

  • Drop off your ballot at any voting location in your county.
  • Drop off your ballot at any secure Ballot Dropbox starting on the second Tuesday in October through Election Day.
  • No postage is required on your return envelope.
  • Some Dropboxes may be accessible 24 hours a day.

For details and locations check caearlyvoting.sos.ca.gov.

Watch How to Return Your Completed Vote-by-Mail Ballot

Vote by Mail

Mail your ballot back early! You can fill it in and mail it back as soon as you receive it.

No stamp? No problem. You do not need a stamp to mail back your ballot in the envelope provided.

Mark your ballot and seal it inside the envelope provided.

  • Follow the directions on the ballot to mark your choices.
  • Check that you are using the return envelope with your name on it.
  • Put your ballot into the envelope & seal it. Only 1 ballot in each envelope.

Sign and date the envelope

  • Date and sign your name on the back of the envelope using ink.
  • Make sure your signature looks like the one you used when you registered to vote.
  • If you registered to vote at the DMV or online, the signature will be the one on your Driver’s License or State ID.
  • Uncertain? Think your signature has changed since you registered? Re-register with your updated signature.

You can assign anyone to drop off your ballot at a voting location on Election Day. Fill in the information on the return envelope.

Return your ballot early.

If you mail your ballot back, don’t delay.

  • Your completed vote-by-mail ballot must be postmarked on or before Tuesday, Election Day.
  • Once mailed and postmarked, the ballot must be received by the elections office no later than the Tuesday after Election Day (7 days).

NEW - Track your Ballot! Sign up at wheresmyballot.sos.ca.gov or call 800-345-VOTE (8683) to find out where your ballot is in the process and when it has been accepted.

Watch How to Return Your Completed Vote-by-Mail Ballot.