If you have any questions not answered here, please contact us!
Phone: 530-886-5650
Toll-free: 1-800-824-8683
Email: [email protected]
Specialized FAQs
Read answers to more specific questions on the various election topics below by clicking the appropriate link:
- Frequently Asked Questions: Election Integrity
- Frequently Asked Questions: Dominion Voting Systems
- Frequently Asked Questions: Registering to Vote
- Frequently Asked Questions: Vote by Mail
- Frequently Asked Questions: Top Two Candidates Open Primary Act
- Frequently Asked Questions: Provisional Voting
More resources for newly registered voters are available on Placer County’s Voter Resources page.
Table of Contents
- How do I register to vote?
- How do I check if I am registered to vote?
- How do I change my political party affiliation?
- Where is my ballot?
- What happened to my polling place? What is the Voter’s Choice Act?
- How do I cancel my voter registration or the registration of a deceased relative?
- How do I receive proof of my voter registration?
- How do I get information about candidates and measures?
- I want to view my voter information guide online.
- How do I vote at a vote center?
- Do vote centers have accessibility accommodations for voters with disabilities or language needs?
- How do I vote by mail?
- How do I vote while living overseas or as part of the military?
- Can I receive my ballot by email?
- I made a mistake on, damaged, or lost my ballot.
- I am looking for a birth certificate, marriage license, death certificate, passport, fictitious business name, property document, etc.
See main page: Register to Vote
The easiest way to register to vote is through California’s Online Voter Registration website [registertovote.ca.gov]. You can also pick up a voter registration card at any Placer County library, post office, DMV, or at the Elections Office in Rocklin. We mail voter registration cards by request.
How do I check if I am registered to vote?
Go to the Am I Registered page to verify your registration details and voting history.
How do I change my political party affiliation?
To change your political party affiliation, you must re-register to vote. Your party affiliation only affects the ballot you receive in a Presidential Primary election. Voters registered with a qualified political party will receive that party’s ballot and vote on that party’s presidential nominees and county central committee members.
No Party Preference voters may have the option to request a crossover ballot and vote for certain parties’ presidential nominees. Learn more here.
Use the ballot status lookup tool on our Vote by Mail Tracking page. You can sign up for tracking notifications from the Secretary of State’s BallotTrax system at wheresmyballot.sos.ca.gov.
What happened to my polling place? What is the Voter’s Choice Act?
Placer County is transitioning to the Voter’s Choice Act. This means you have more ways and more days to vote. You are not assigned a specific polling place. Instead, vote at any vote center starting up to 10 days before Election Day.
How do I cancel my voter registration or the registration of a deceased relative?
You can use a Voter Action Request Form to cancel your voter registration or the registration of a deceased relative. You will need to print out this form and mail it to our office. You may also call our office to request that we mail you the form or visit our office in person to fill out the paperwork.
How do I receive proof of my voter registration?
Four to six weeks after registering to vote, you will receive a Voter Notification Card in the mail. This means the Elections Office has your voter registration affidavit on file. We request that you check your card to confirm your information is correct.
If you lose your card, contact our office to request a new one.
If you require certified proof of your registration, use the Certified Proof of Registration Application. This is a certificate signed by a deputized election official and embossed with the county seal.
How do I get information about candidates and measures?
Between 21 and 40 days before each election, the Elections Office will send you a county voter information guide, which contains a sample ballot and information about local candidates and ballot measures on which you can vote.
You will also receive the state voter information guide from the Secretary of State before every March primary and November general election.
When you have finished reading both voter information guides and you feel informed on each candidate and measure, you can mark your sample ballot. Use your sample ballot at a vote center to save time or as a rough draft before voting your vote-by-mail ballot.
I want to view my voter information guide online.
Every voter can go online to view an accessible version of their voter information guide. You can choose to opt out of paper voter information guides here.
How do I vote at a vote center?
View an up-to-date list of vote centers on our website. You can vote in person at any of them as soon as they open and until 8:00 p.m. on Election Day! You can also take your vote-by-mail ballot to a vote center to drop it off.
At the vote center, you will be asked for your name and residence address by an election aide. They will look up your voter record to make sure you are eligible to vote and haven’t already voted. The election aide will then have you sign your name in the roster. You will receive a ballot, pen, and secrecy sleeve. You may be required to show ID if you are a first-time federal voter and did not include ID with your voter registration affidavit.
Take your ballot to a voting booth and fill it out by following these instructions:
- Completely darken the oval next to your selection with blue or black ink.
- DO NOT make partial marks when you make your selections. X marks, check marks, and other kinds of partial shading on the ovals are not acceptable ways to fill out your ballot.
- Remember to check both sides of the ballot.
- If you are voting for a qualified write-in candidate, you must completely fill in the oval AND write the name of the candidate in the space provided. Unless both steps are completed, your vote for a write-in candidate cannot be counted. The election aides will have a list of qualified write-in candidates for your reference.
- Vote for only one candidate in each contest unless the instructions on the ballot say you may vote for more. Please note that you may choose to not vote on any contest you wish. Your ballot will still be counted.
When you finish voting, take the ballot to the vote counting machine and insert the ballot. Election aides are available to guide or assist you. Return the secrecy sleeve and borrowed pen to the check-in table.
Do vote centers have accessibility accommodations for voters with disabilities or language needs?
You have the right to get help casting your ballot from anyone you choose, except from your employer or union representative. Our election aides are happy to help if you want to vote curbside or have questions about our accessible ballot marking devices. Each vote center will have a drive-up “doorbell” and a portable ballot marking device to roll up beside your vehicle.
If you are at a vote center with translated materials in one of our supported languages (Spanish, Tagalog, Korean, and Punjabi), you can ask for a translated facsimile sample ballot to aid you in voting. It is our goal to staff every vote center with a Spanish-speaking election aide and certain vote centers near targeted precincts with Tagalog, Korean, and Punjabi speakers. All vote centers are also equipped with Language Line to support many more languages.
See main page: Vote by Mail
All active registered voters receive a vote-by-mail ballot and may choose to vote that ballot or vote in person at a vote center.
To vote by mail, follow the same bulleted instructions as above for how to vote your ballot. When you have finished filling out your ballot, be sure to sign the return envelope for your voted ballot, or your ballot cannot be counted. If you are unable to return your voted ballot yourself, you may authorize a representative to deliver the ballot for you.
Ballots may be returned by mail, at an official drop box, at any vote center, or at the Elections Office in Rocklin. Look for locations and times of drop boxes and vote centers on our website under “How to Vote” or in your county voter information guide. You may also drop off your ballot at any out of county drop box, vote center, or polling place in California and it will be forwarded to us.
To be counted, voted ballots must be received by the Elections Office no later than 8:00 PM on Election Day or received up to seven days after Election Day if postmarked on or before Election Day. Consider mailing your ballot back early.
How do I vote while living overseas or as part of the military?
If you do not reside in Placer County because you are a military member, overseas citizen, or the spouse of a military or overseas voter, you are eligible to receive benefits through our Military & Overseas Voting Program (UOCAVA). UOCAVA voters receive their ballot 45 to 60 days before every election, rather than the usual 29 days. They also have the option to receive their ballot by mail, email, or fax and return their voted ballot by mail or fax.
Can I receive my ballot by email?
Even if you do not qualify as a military or overseas voter, you may choose to receive your ballot electronically through Remote Accessible Vote by Mail (RAVBM). The main difference is that you will receive the link for your ballot by email 29 days, rather than 45 to 60 days, before Election Day, and you cannot return it by fax. The ballot must be printed out and returned by mail, in a ballot drop box, at a vote center, or at our office.
I made a mistake on, damaged, or lost my ballot.
If voting by mail, read more about how to make a replacement ballot request here. If at a vote center, take your spoiled ballot to an election aide. They will void the ballot and issue you a new ballot to vote.
Please note, in either case, you can receive at most two (2) replacement ballots.
I am looking for a birth certificate, marriage license, death certificate, passport, fictitious business name, property document, etc.
The Clerk-Recorder side of our department can help you. Their main office is also at 3715 Atherton Road, Rocklin, CA, with a satellite office at 2954 Richardson Drive, Auburn, CA. Visit their website here.