Voter Registration

With the passage of Senate Bill 360, the state of California (CA) seems to be on right track with respect to improving their voting process, as they are pushing for implementation of an open-source voting platform.

With this in mind, we decided to take a closer look at their voter registration process to determine whether or not there was room for improvement there as well. In researching the voter registration process in CA, we found that voters have a couple of options when registering to vote.

The infographic below outlines the current voter registration process in California, which is very similar to many other states across the country.

In Summary…

Registering To Vote

There are currently two methods of registration. First, you can register by mail. You must obtain a voter registration form, which you can do in person at the DMV, online and print it out, or by calling the voter registration hotline. After filling out the form and mailing it in, you are officially registered to vote. The second method is completely online at the Voter Registration website. After submitting the application, the system will check the information against the DMV’s database. If your signature is on file, you are officially registered

What You Will Receive 

You will receive a voter registration card between 2 weeks and 3 months after you submit your application.

If you register at least 29 days prior to the election, you will receive a sample ballot. If you registered between 29 and 15 days prior to election, you will only get a ballot if your county has time to distribute them.

Other Information

Issues such as inadequate resources, clerical errors, and failures of communication impact the registration process. In 2008, over 2000 people couldn’t vote because of registration problems.