State of California Elections & Voting

Election Day is November 8

October 10 Every registered voter will be mailed a vote-by-mail ballot
October 11 First day of voting-by-mail
October 24 Deadline to register to vote (same-day registration is allowed)
November 8 Deadline to postmark vote-by-mail ballots
November 8 Election day
November 15 Deadline for election authority to receive vote-by-mail ballots

To register to vote in California, you must be:

A United States citizen
A resident of California
18 years old on election day (16 and 17-year-olds can preregister)
Not currently serving a state or federal prison term for the conviction of a felony
Not currently found mentally incompetent to vote by a court

How to register to vote:

You can apply to register to vote right now by filling in the online application.
If you would like to register using a paper voter registration application, you can pick one up at your county elections office, library, Department of Motor Vehicles offices, or U.S. post office. It is important that your voter registration application be filled out completely and be postmarked or hand-delivered to your county elections office at least 15 days before the election.
To request a paper voter registration application be mailed to you, please call (800) 345-VOTE(8683) or email Elections Division staff.

Same-day voter registration

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.
Visit sos.ca.gov for a list of early voting locations where you can complete the Same Day Voter Registration Process.
Need to register on Election Day? Use our polling place lookup tool to find your local polling location.

Voter Registration ID Requirements

To register online you will need

- Your California driver license or California identification card number,
- The last four digits of your social security number and
- Your date of birth.

Your information will be provided to the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to retrieve a copy of your DMV signature.
If you do not have a California driver license or California identification card, you can still use this form to apply to register to vote. However, you will need to take additional steps to complete your voter registration.

If you are a first-time voter in a federal election and you did not provide this information when you registered, and you plan to:

Vote by mail: prior to voting your ballot, send a photocopy of your personal identification to your county elections official. If you do not do this prior to voting, you will be contacted by your county elections official upon receipt of your voted ballot to request the required proof of identity. You must provide an acceptable form of identification to your county elections official before they can open your vote-by-mail ballot return envelope. If your identity cannot be verified, your vote-by-mail ballot return envelope will not be opened and your ballot will not be counted.
Vote in person: prior to receiving your ballot at your polling location, you may be asked to provide an acceptable form of identification.
Examples of acceptable forms of personal identification are as follows: a copy of a recent utility bill, the county Voter Information Guide you received from your county elections office or another document sent to you by a government agency, or a copy of your passport, driver license, California identification card, or student identification card. For more information on the type of identification to use when you vote for the first time, review thecomplete list of acceptable forms of identification (PDF), call the Secretary of State’s toll-free voter hotline at (800) 345-VOTE (8683), or contact your county elections official.

Vote-by-Mail

All California active registered voters will receive a vote-by-mail ballot for the November 8, General Election. Your county elections office will begin mailing ballots no later than October 10, 2022. You may return your voted ballot by:

mailing it to your county elections official
returning it in person to any polling place within the state or the office of your county elections official
dropping your ballot off at a drop-off location or into a ballot drop box within the state
authorizing someone to return the ballot on your behalf

When your vote-by-mail ballot is received by your county elections official, your signature on the return envelope will be compared to the signature(s) in your voter registration record. To preserve the secrecy of your ballot, the ballot will then be separated from the return envelope, and then it will be tallied. All valid vote-by-mail ballots are counted in every election in California, regardless of the outcome or closeness of any race

Resources

Tribes in California

Federally recognized tribes

Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians of the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation
Augustine Band of Cahuilla Indians
Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria
Berry Creek Rancheria of Maidu Indians of California
Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians of the Big Valley Rancheria
Bishop Paiute Tribe
Blue Lake Rancheria
Bridgeport Indian Colony
Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of California
Cabazon Band of Mission Indians
Cachil DeHe Band of Wintun Indians of the Colusa Indian Community of the Colusa Rancheria
Cahto Tribe of the Laytonville Rancheria
Cahuilla Band of Indians
California Valley Miwok Tribe
Campo Band of Diegueno Mission Indians of the Campo Indian Reservation
Capitan Grande Band of Diegueno Mission Indians of California (Barona Group of Capitan Grande Band of Mission Indians of the Barona Reservation)
Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of California
Cloverdale Rancheria of Pomo Indians of California
Cold Springs Rancheria of Mono Indians of California
Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians of California
Elk Valley Rancheria
Enterprise Rancheria of Maidu Indians of California
Ewiiaapaayp Band of Kumeyaay Indians
Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria
Fort Bidwell Indian Community of the Fort Bidwell Reservation of California
Fort Independence Indian Community of Paiute Indians of the Fort Independence Reservation
Fort Mojave Indian Tribe of Arizona, California & Nevada
Greenville Rancheria
Grindstone Indian Rancheria of Wintun-Wailaki Indians of California
Guidiville Rancheria of California
Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake
Hoopa Valley Tribe
Hopland Band of Pomo Indians
Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel
Inaja Band of Diegueno Mission Indians of the Inaja and Cosmit Reservation
Ione Band of Miwok Indians of California
Jackson Band of Miwuk Indians
Jamul Indian Village of California
Karuk Tribe
Kashia Band of Pomo Indians of the Stewarts Point Rancheria
Kletsel Dehe Band of Wintun Indians
Koi Nation of Northern California
La Jolla Band of Luiseno Indians
La Posta Band of Diegueno Mission Indians of the La Posta Indian Reservation
Lone Pine Paiute-Shoshone Tribe
Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians
Lytton Rancheria of California
Manchester Band of Pomo Indians of the Manchester Rancheria
Manzanita Band of Diegueno Mission Indians of the Manzanita Reservation
Mechoopda Indian Tribe of Chico Rancheria
Mesa Grande Band of Diegueno Mission Indians of the Mesa Grande Reservation
Middletown Rancheria of Pomo Indians of California
Morongo Band of Mission Indians
Northfork Rancheria of Mono Indians of California
Pala Band of Mission Indians
Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians of California
Pauma Band of Luiseno Mission Indians of the Pauma & Yuima Reservation
Pechanga Band of Indians
Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians of California
Pinoleville Pomo Nation
Pit River Tribe
Potter Valley Tribe
Quartz Valley Indian Community of the Quartz Valley Reservation of California
Ramona Band of Cahuilla
Redding Rancheria
Redwood Valley or Little River Band of Pomo Indians of the Redwood Valley Rancheria California
Resighini Rancheria
San Pasqual Band of Diegueno Mission Indians of California
Santa Rosa Band of Cahuilla Indians
Santa Rosa Indian Community of the Santa Rosa Rancheria
Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians of the Santa Ynez Reservation
Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians of California
Sherwood Valley Rancheria of Pomo Indians of California
Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, Shingle Springs Rancheria (Verona Tract)
Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians
Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation

State recognized tribes

None

Native Vote Coordinators

California Native Vote website

Jeanian Espinoza
Tribal Council
Santa Rosa Band of Cahuilla Indians
(951) 659-2700
jespinoza@santarosacahuilla-nsn.gov

Larry Hendrix
Council Member
Yurok Tribe
lhendrix@yuroktribe.nsn.us

Major Party Contact Information

Democrat
Chairman, John Burton
www.cadem.org

Chair, Andrew Masiel
Native American Caucus
www.nativeamericancaucus.org

Republican
Chairman, Jim Brulte
www.cagop.org