Voting Process

• a citizen of the United States
• eighteen years of age or older on or before the date of the election
• a resident of California for 15 days by the day of the election
• not in prison or on parole for the conviction of a felony
• have not been judged by a court to be mentally incompetent to register to vote
• registered to vote
  
  

Pick up a registration form at the Office of the City Clerk, the Post Office, Library, banks, most County buildings, State Motor Vehicle offices, public assistance offices, the Fire Department, the Registrar of Voters or the Office of the League of Women Voters Office. Alternatively, the form can be found online here.

Fill out the form, sign, and mail. Postage is free. The County Registrar of Voters will send you a card verifying your registration. Failure to vote in an election does not cancel your registration. You can also request a form from the Secretary of State's Office.

In order to vote in the nearest upcoming election, your registration form must be postmarked about two weeks in advance. Specific dates are given at the Secretary of State's website.

For more details, read the Guide to Voter Registration (PDF).

Voters who have moved within 15 days of the election without notifying the L.A. County Registrar's Office of the address change, may vote at the polling location for either the new or prior residence address or at the Registrar/Recorder/County Clerk's Office in Norwalk.

Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

City elections take place every odd-numbered year in March and May.

The Primary Election is the first Tuesday following the first Monday in June every even-numbered years. This election is to nominate the candidates from each political party for the general election, which will be held in November of that year.

The General Election is the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November every even-numbered year.

Other items that may appear on the March and November ballots are ballot measures, bond acts, constitutional changes and propositions.

All registered voters will receive a sample ballot and voting pamphlet in the mail approximately three weeks before each election. The location of your polling place is designated on the back. Study and mark the sample ballot. Take it with you to the voting booth as a guide.

Instead of a paper version, you may request to receive an E-Sample Ballot.

The pamphlet has information on the candidates and measures to assist in making informed choices before voting.

You can also request to vote by mail online. Go to http://www.lavote.net and click on the yellow box entitled "Vote by Mail" on top of the page. http://www/lavote.net/VOTER/Absentee_Voting.cfm

There is also an application for permanent vote by mail status on http://www.lavote.net but you can not apply online. You must download the form, fill and sign, and mail it to the County Registrar's office. You can also call or write to request permanent vote by mail status (See address above). Once you receive permanent vote by mail status you will automatically receive a ballot in the mail without re-applying each election. You will have permanent vote by mail status until you fail to vote in two statewide general elections (4 years) or your request cancellation.

Where do I go to vote? Where is my polling place? Your polling place is listed on the back of you Sample Ballot. It will also tell you whether or not the polling place is accessible. If you do not have your sample ballot, you can look your polling place up at the Smart Voter Website. or call the County Registrar at (562)466-1310.


Touchscreen Voting; What is it and how can I try it? This is a method of voting in which you go to one of the designated touchscreen voting places throughout the county and touch a screen to vote instead of inking a card. Anyone can do this. It is available a few weeks before election day. To get a map of all county locations, visit the website of the LA County Registrar of Voters.




• What services are available for voters with disabilities?

  
  
  • accessible polling places wherever possible
    
  • wheelchair accessible voting booths
    
  • large type voting instructions and magnifying devices at polling
    places
    
  • large ball voting stylus for grasping difficulties
    
  • cassette tapes with state and county ballot measures
    
  • absentee/vote-by-mail and permanent absentee/vote-by-mail voting options
    
  • touchscreen voting systems' headset voice prompter device for blind and visually impaired voters
    

  If you are interested in learning about election services available to assist persons with disabilities or senior citizens, please write to or call the Registrar-Recorder County Clerk at P.O. Box 1024, Norwalk, CA 90651-1024, telephone (562) 466-1323 or TDD (for the hearing impaired) (562) 463-2259

• RESOURCES
  • SmartVoter Statewide propositions, local candidates and issues, media links, and background materials.
  • LA County Registrar-Recorder Election calendar, polling places, absentee voting info, multilingual voting materials
  • Easy Voter Guide Concise facts on statewide propositions; Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Vietnamese, English
  • Secretary of State Official text of ballot measures, candidates' statements, maps, dates, election returns
  • CA Legislative Analyst Analysis of all ballot measures
  • CA Voter Foundation Data on campaign contributions to candidates and measures
  • CA Budget Project Analyzes the fiscal effects of statewide ballot measures
  • LA County League of Women Voters