Monday is the deadline to register to vote in June 3 primary
Monday is the deadline to register to vote in the June 3 California primary, which features a host of candidate contests and two state ballot measures.
Voters will weigh in on races for governor, secretary of state and other statewide offices, and for all of the state’s 53 seats in the House of Representatives, all 80 in the Assembly and half of those in the 40-member state Senate.
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FOR THE RECORD: An earlier version of this post included a caption that said the deadline to vote in next month’s elections is Monday. Monday is the deadline to register to vote.
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There are local contests as well: for sheriff, assessor and two members of the Board of Supervisors in Los Angeles County; a mayoral runoff in Long Beach; a special election to fill a seat on the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education; and numerous races for Superior Court judges.
Several other jurisdictions are holding elections the same day.
“Registering to vote is now easier than ever for eligible Californians,” Secretary of State Debra Bowen said in a recent news release.
In addition to new voters, those who have moved, changed names or changed political parties need to register by Monday to participate in next month’s elections.
Registration is available online at RegisterToVote.ca.gov or through a resident’s home county.
Paper applications are available at local public libraries, U.S. post offices, state Department of Motor Vehicles offices and many other state government offices.
Residents can check their registration status online at or through the county registrar’s office. (For Los Angeles County residents, it’s here.)
The state’s top-two primary system, in wide use for the first time in 2012, gives greater power to the growing segment of independent voters — now 21% of California’s registered base — by allowing them equal participation in voting, along with those who are affiliated with a political party.
Now all candidates, regardless of any party affiliation, appear on a single ballot. All voters choose among them, and the first- and second-place finishers advance to the fall general election.
California has nearly 17.7 million registered voters; an additional 6.4 million or so people are eligible to vote but have not registered.
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