Who May Register to Vote

A person is entitled to register to vote if they are:

• A U.S. citizen
• A resident of California
• Not currently serving a state or federal prison term for the conviction of a felony
• At least 18 years of age on the date of the election

California election law denies the right to vote to persons who have been determined mentally incompetent to vote by the court.

Registration Statistics for Placer County

Please see the Registration Statistics page.

How and Where to Register to Vote

To register to vote, you need to complete and sign a Voter Registration Affidavit. For most voters, this happens at the DMV after they apply for a California Driver’s License or Identification Card.

You can register to vote online through the Secretary of State’s website at registertovote.ca.gov. If you do not have a DMV signature on file, you will have to print out your registration affidavit, sign it, and mail it to the Placer County Elections Office at 3715 Atherton Road Ste 2, Rocklin, CA 95765.

You may also register to vote on a paper form by filling out and mailing a Voter Registration Card to the Placer County Elections Office. These forms are pre-addressed and postage paid. (Some forms carry the Secretary of State’s address in Sacramento or the address of another county – these forms can be used also.)

Voter Registration Cards are available at the Elections Office, 3715 Atherton Road, Rocklin, CA. Forms are also available at:

• Post Offices
• Department of Motor Vehicles (DMVs)
• Public Libraries
• City and Town Clerk’s Offices
• Chambers of Commerce
• High Schools

To have a card mailed to you, call the Elections Office at 530-886-5650 (toll-free at 1-800-824-8683).

Certain voters face life-threatening situations may qualify for confidential voter status.  For more information, please contact the Secretary of State’s Safe At Home program or visit the Secretary of State’s Internet Web site.

Verify or Cancel Your Registration

To verify if you are an active voter in Placer County, use any of these options:

• Secretary of State: My Voter Status
• Placer County: Am I Registered?
• Call our office at 530-886-5650 (toll-free at 1-800-824-8683)

To cancel your voter registration in Placer County, mail a Voter Cancellation Request to our office.

You may use a Voter Action Request Form to cancel your registration or to cancel the registration of a deceased relative. Note that most death records reach our office within one to two weeks, after which we automatically cancel the voter.

How To Change Your Name, Address, or Political Party

If you:

• Have gotten married or changed your name; or
• Moved within Placer County and need to change your address; or
• Wish to change your political party affiliation

You may simply re-register to vote, using any of the methods above, and we will update your voter record to reflect the change.

To make certain minor changes like correcting a misspelling in your name or adding or removing a mailing address, phone number, or email address, you can either re-register to vote or print out and mail a Voter Action Request Form to our office.

Deadline to Register for an Election

The close of registration for each election is 15 days before Election Day. To be eligible to receive voting material, you must register on or before the deadline.

However, an individual can go to the Elections Office starting 14 days before Election Day or a vote center starting 10 days before Election Day, up until 8:00 PM on Election Day, to conditionally register and vote a ballot, provided they reside in Placer County and have not already turned in a voted ballot at another elections office in the state.

Once you are registered, you will remain on the voter rolls and be eligible to vote until you move out of the county or become ineligible. Failure to vote in an election does not make you ineligible.

Notice to Voters – Use of Voter Information

Election Code Section 2157.2 provides that, in order that a voter be fully informed of the permissible uses of personal information supplied by him or her for the purpose of completing a voter registration affidavit that the following information be provided:

“Information on your voter registration affidavit will be used by elections officials to send you official information on the voting process, such as the location of your polling place and the issues and candidates that will appear on the ballot. Commercial use of voter registration information is prohibited by law and is a misdemeanor. Voter information may be provided to a candidate for office, a ballot measure committee, or other persons for election, scholarly, journalistic, political, or governmental purposes, as determined by the Secretary of State. Driver’s license and social security numbers, or your signature as shown on your voter registration card, cannot be released for these purposes. If you have any questions about the use of voter information or wish to report suspected misuse of such information, please call the Secretary of State’s Voter Protection and Assistance Hotline.