By VOICE & VIEWPOINT NEWSWIRE
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 will be processed and counted once the county elections office has completed the voter registration verification process.
How it works:
Conditional Voter registration is only available in person and you will need to allow for the extra time it will take you to fill out additional forms before voting.
- If you miss the registration deadline for an upcoming election, you can still vote by visiting:
- Registrar of Voters at 5600 Overland Ave., San Diego, CA 92123, during the 14 days prior to and including Election Day, or
- Any Vote Center in the county
- Once at the Registrar of Voters or Vote Center, you will complete the CVR application.
- You will be issued a ballot for which you can mark your choices.
- You place your marked ballot inside the CVR provisional envelope and seal it.
- Once your conditional voter registration form is verified, and it is confirmed that you did not vote elsewhere in the state for the current election, your registration will become active, and your ballot will be counted.
- You will now be registered for future elections if you are eligible to participate.
Not sure if you’re already registered? Visit https://voterstatus.sos.ca.gov/ and enter your voter information to find out.
How do I know if I qualify to use conditional voter registration remotely?
Military and overseas voters and voters with disabilities may complete a conditional voter registration remotely and then also vote their ballot remotely. This service is intended for those voters who are not registered and are not able to make it to a Vote Center during the in-person voting period.
To complete remote conditional voter registration visit https://registertovote.ca.gov/ and notify the Registrar of Viters that you wish to conditionally register to vote provisionally using a Remote Accessible Vote By Mail (RAVBM). Call the Registrar of Voters at (858) 565-5800.
Provisional voting exists in California for two fundamental reasons:
First, provisional voting ensures that no properly registered voter is denied their right to cast a ballot if that voter’s name is not on the polling place roster due to a clerical, processing, computer, or other error.
Second, provisional voting allows elections officials to ensure that no voter votes twice, either intentionally or inadvertently, in a given election.
Provisional ballots are ballots cast by voters who:
- Believe they are registered to vote even though their names are not on the official voter registration list at the polling place.
- Vote by mail and instead want to vote at their polling place or a vote center, but they did not receive their ballot or do not have their ballot with them (and the elections official is unable to verify that they have not returned their vote-by-mail ballot).
Your provisional ballot will be counted after elections officials have confirmed that you are registered to vote in that county and you did not already vote in that election.
You may vote a provisional ballot at any polling place in the county in which you are registered to vote, however, only the elections contests you are eligible to vote for will be counted.
Visit www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-status for a list of county contacts and information on how to check the status of your provisional ballot.
Polling places are open Oct 26 – Nov 4, 8am – 5pm, and on Nov 5 7am-8pm.
Visit www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-status to check the status of your provisional ballot. Again, to check your voter registration status visit https://voterstatus.sos.ca.gov/.
SOURCE: County of San Diego Registrar of Voters, sos.ca.gov
