Voter info: Here's how to register to vote, plus ways to vote

ByPhillip Palmer, Anabel Munoz, and ABC7.com staff KABC logo
Friday, September 25, 2020
Voter info: Here's how to register to vote, plus ways to vote
Are you registered to vote? Here's how to check your voter registration status before the election.

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Are you registered to vote? Here's how to check your voter registration status, plus the ways to vote.

To find the closest voting center or drop box in Los Angeles County, visit:

L.A. County voting centers: https://locator.lavote.net/locations/vc

L.A. County vote by mail drop boxes: https://locator.lavote.net/locations/vbm/

To check if you're registered to vote, visit: https://voterstatus.sos.ca.gov.

If you're not registered, you can still register in-person at a polling location.

To register online:

https://registertovote.ca.gov

https://www.usa.gov/register-to-vote

https://vote.gov/

https://www.eac.gov/voters/register-and-vote-in-your-state

In May, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order which, among other things, orders that a vote-by-mail ballot be mailed to each voter prior to Nov. 3 in addition to offering in-person voting locations. All registered voters will be sent a vote-by-mail ballot for the Nov. 3 General Election. Registered voters do not have to apply for a vote-by-mail ballot for this election.

HOW TO VOTE

You can vote in person on Election Day. Voting stations will be set up six feet apart. You should wear a mask, but you won't be refused your right to vote if you don't wear one.

Here's how mail-in ballots work:

  • All registered voters in California will be mailed a ballot.
  • Ballots will go out around the first week of October.
  • All vote by mail ballots in California come with prepaid postage.
  • You can return your ballot at any time up to and including Election Day, November 3.
  • The envelope must be sealed, signed, and dated.
  • It can be turned into your county election's office, a ballot drop box, a vote center, or any polling place.
  • If you're mailing it back, there's more time this year for it to arrive, because of concerns about the U.S. Postal Service.
  • A ballot with a postmark no later than November 3 can be received as late as November 20 and it will still count.
  • You can track your ballot online, through the Secretary of State's website.

You can pick up a paper voter registration application at any Department of Motor Vehicles field office, and many post offices, public libraries and government offices, or request one from your county elections office. To receive a voter registration application by mail from the Secretary of State, call the toll-free Voter Hotline at (800) 345-VOTE (8683).

For more information about ways to vote, include early voting, visit sos.ca.gov/elections/voting-info.

To find early voting and vote-by-mail ballot drop off locations, visit https://caearlyvoting.sos.ca.gov/.

MORE: 6 ways mail-in ballots are protected from fraud

The Trump and Biden campaigns are ready to deploy challengers to ballot-counting operations in battleground states.

Get the latest updates on elections news at: abc7.com/vote.

For everything you need to know about all the California propositions, check out our 2020 Voter Guide.

MORE: Companies across the US pledge to give workers time off to vote

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