Election 2024: Am I registered to vote? Here’s how Orange County voters can check
Election season is underway, and ballots are almost ready to be mailed to every registered voter in California.
Not sure if that’s you? There are multiple ways to check.
Head on over to the secretary of state’s website, voterstatus.sos.ca.gov, where you can check if you’re registered, see what your political party preference is and select your language preference for voting materials, among other things.
You’ll need to input some information to find your voter registration status: first name, last name and date of birth. You’ll also need to input your California driver’s license or identification card number and the last four digits of your social security number. If you do not have either a state ID card or social security number, you can check a box indicating as such.
Click the “next” button, and your registration status should appear.
If you’re an Orange County resident, you can also check your status on the Orange County Registrar of Voters’ website: ocvote.gov/vlt. There, you’ll be asked to input your date of birth and the last four digits of your California driver’s license or identification card. If you don’t have a state ID card, you can use the last four digits of your social security number.
Click the “submit” button, and your registration status should appear.
If you’re not yet registered to vote, don’t worry — there is still time to do so and participate in the presidential election. The deadline to register is Monday, Oct. 21.
You can register to vote online on the secretary of state’s website: registertovote.ca.gov. Registration materials are available in Chinese, English, Hindi, Khmer, Korean, Japanese, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai and Vietnamese. There, Californians who are 16 or 17 years old can also pre-register to participate in future elections.
If you miss the Oct. 21 deadline, there’s still an opportunity to vote. Head to one of the several vote centers around Orange County — many will open on Saturday, Oct. 26 and even more will open on Saturday, Nov. 2 — where you can find help completing what’s called a conditional voter registration. You’ll then be able to also cast a provisional ballot after you’ve registered. That provisional ballot will then be checked, treated and processed the same as a regular ballot once your registration is confirmed — with safeguards in place to prevent someone from voting more than once.
