VOTING 101

How to vote in San Luis Obispo County

LAST DAY TO VOTE: NOV 8TH –  POLLING PLACES OPEN UNTIL 8 PM.

Register to vote

  • Online registration closes on October 24. BUT did you know what CA has Same Day Registration? This means that you can register to vote in person at a polling location or at the County Clerk’s Office until election day.
  • To register in California you must:
    • be a United States citizen
    • be a resident of California
    • be at least 18 years old or older on Election Day – Turning 18 on election day? You can vote!
    • not be currently serving a state or federal prison term for the conviction of a felony
    • not be currently found to be mentally incompetent to vote by a court
  • Don’t know what address you used during registration? Check your voter status here: https://voterstatus.sos.ca.gov/
  • Questions? Contact us if you have questions or contact the County Clerk office. Visit their website or their physical office.

The SLO County Clerk office, located at: 1055 Monterey Street.  San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 (NEXT TO THE FREEMONT THEATER) Phone: (805) 781-5088

Where to Vote

Where and how to vote in SLO County.

1. TAKE YOUR BALLOT TO A DROP-OFF LOCATION:

2. SEND BALLOT THROUGH REGULAR MAIL

  • Your ballot must be postmarked on or before Election Day to be counted.
  • Taking your ballot to the post office can assure that your ballot is postmarked on time.
  • Too late to mail? Take your ballot to any polling or drop-off location. 
  • List of locations in SLO County can be found here.

Voting in Person on Election Day

  • You can find your polling place here: https://clerk.slocounty.ca.gov/pollingplace/ 
  • If you choose to vote in person but you had received your vote by mail (VBM) ballot through the mail, please surrender your VBM ballot at your polling location. You will be given a new ballot for in person voting.
    Questions? Call the County Clerk Recorder office at 805-781-5228.

Sign Up to Track Your Ballot

California offers a free service to track your vote-by-mail ballot, get notified when it’s received by your election office! Track your ballot here. 

FAQ’s

WHY VOTE EARLY?

Voting early AND tracking your ballot will give you enough time to make sure your ballot is received and gets counted properly. Voting early also helps campaigns focus on getting out the votes for outstanding ballots. Voting early can help our campaigns save money and we can move our efforts toward critical and underserved areas. If you know who you’re voting for, vote ASAP.

WHAT IF I CAN’T RETURN THE BALLOT MYSELF?

You may authorize someone to return the ballot on your behalf, as long as they do not get paid on a per ballot basis. In order for your ballot to be counted, you must fill out the authorization section found on the outside of your ballot envelope and they must print and sign their name on the back of the Return Envelope.

WHAT IF MY SIGNATURE HAS CHANGED?

  • You can contact the County Clerk Recorder and request a physical registration card.
  • When your vote-by-mail ballot is received by your county elections official, your signature on the return envelope will be compared to the signature on your voter registration card to ensure they match.
  • New legislation requires the Election Office to send letters to voters who forgot to sign their return envelope or whose signatures did not match their signatures on file so their ballots can be validated and counted.
  • The County makes every effort to accept signatures as written. When they cannot reconcile your ballot signature with what they have on file, you will receive a written notification. Once you respond to that notice, your ballot will be counted. If you have concerns, check with the County Clerk prior to returning your ballot to see what they have on file.) To preserve the secrecy of your ballot, the ballot will then be separated from the envelope, and then it will be tallied.

NEED HELP?

  • Need any help, have any question?  Contact us! We’ll be happy to help you.