KPBS Voter Hub

The goal of Prop. 50 is to give Democrats a better chance at winning additional seats in next year’s midterm elections. The move would counter an earlier President Donald Trump-backed Republican effort in Texas to do the same.

Read more about how we got here.

You can register to vote or check your registration status online on the California Online Voter Registration page. The last day to register to vote for the general election is Oct. 20.

If you missed the registration deadline, you can still register conditionally and vote provisionally at the registrar’s office or any vote center.

You can find more information at the Registrar of Voters Election Information site.

Here are the key dates and times for early and last-day voting:

• Oct. 6 Ballots go out to registered voters. In-person voting begins at Registrar of Voters office.
• Oct. 7 Official ballot drop boxes open.
• Oct. 20 Voter registration deadline; you can still conditionally register and vote through Election Day
• Nov. 1 All vote centers open daily
• Nov. 4 Election Day
• Dec. 2 Deadline to certify the election

Pre-registration is available to eligible 16 and 17-year-olds. Once a voter turns 18, their voter registration will automatically become active. However, you must be a U.S. citizen in order to pre-register or register.

County election offices will begin mailing ballots to active registered voters by Oct. 6. Just fill it out, seal it in the provided envelope and send it off to your county elections office. Make sure it's postmarked by Nov. 4.

If you're dropping off your ballot, it must be submitted at the drop-off locations no later than 8 p.m. when polls close on Election Day.

All California active registered voters are sent a vote-by-mail ballot roughly a month before an election. That allows local election offices time for thorough verification processes, such as signature matching and accuracy testing. This extended timeframe also accommodates people who don't have time to make it to a vote center on Election Day, providing ample opportunity to cast their ballots. Californians have had the option to vote by mail since 1979, and instances of voter fraud, including with mail-in ballots, are exceedingly rare due to stringent safety protocols. Mail-in ballots are only provided to registered Californians, and there are robust measures in place to prevent forgery, theft and fraudulent activity. In 2012 65.15% of ballots cast were mail-in ballots — 10 years later that number was 91.24%

Find more facts about the elections process on the California Secretary of State website and on the San Diego Registrar of Voters website.

Voters may cast their vote on and return either ballot. Destroy the unused ballot. If the voter uses the suspended ballot, the system will automatically set aside that ballot envelope. That ballot will be counted if and only if that is the only ballot returned by the voter.

"Voters are encouraged to call our office to let us know. Replacement mail ballots are typically sent when a voter moves within the county to a new residence address after the initial mailing was sent," said a San Diego Registrar of Voters representative via email.

Ballots in California are available in several languages other than English.

When registering to vote, you can select from the following: Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Tagalog, Thai or Vietnamese. You can register online at the Secretary of State's website.

The Voting Rights Act, enacted in 1965, requires the Registrar of Voters to provide language assistance in Spanish, Filipino, Vietnamese and Chinese. To receive voting materials in these languages you can fill out an application.

For people that speak Arabic, Japanese, Korean, Somali, Persian or Laotian, you can request a reference ballot called a "facsimile ballot." It's a copy of the ballot translated into these languages. You can use that copy to mark your choices on an official ballot.

To request a reference ballot you can reach out to the following:

Call (800) 696-0136 (toll free), (858) 565-5800 or email rovmail@sdcounty.ca.gov.

Ask a poll worker at a vote center for a reference ballot. If you need help marking your ballot, you may bring someone with you to the poll to assist you.

Political consultant Tom Shepard said campaigns use databases informed by voter rolls from the Registrar of Voters to target those who haven't voted yet with mailers, texts and phone calls.

That means, voting early can help! Campaigns track voter rolls every 24 to 36 hours, and once your ballot is cast, the mail stops. Plus, early voting means avoiding long lines and ensures your vote counts on time.