Contact: Mark Church, Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder
Alternate: Jim Irizarry, Asst. Chief Elections Officer & Asst. Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder
(Redwood City, CA) The deadline to register to vote is February 20, 2024, for the March 5, 2024 Presidential Primary Election. Voter registration forms sent by mail must be postmarked on or before February 20, 2024.
Register online at registertovote.ca.gov. Online registration must be completed by 11:59 p.m. on February 20 to receive a ballot in the mail for the March 5, 2024 Presidential Primary Election.
Voter Registration Forms are available at the following locations:
- Registration & Elections Division (40 Tower Road, San Mateo);
- Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder’s Office (555 County Center, Redwood City);
- Any of the County’s Vote Centers;
- City and Town Halls;
- Department of Motor Vehicles Offices;
- Post Offices; and
- Public Libraries.
To be eligible to register to vote, a person must be:
- A U.S. citizen and a resident of California;
- At least 18 years old by Election Day;
- Not currently serving a state or federal prison term for the conviction of a felony; and
- Not currently deemed by a court to be mentally incompetent to register to vote.
If you are 16 or 17 years old, you can pre-register to vote. Persons who are pre-registered will automatically become a registered voter on their eighteenth birthday. Ballots have been mailed to anyone pre-registered if their 18th birthday is no later than March 5, 2024. If your eighteenth birthday falls on or before March 5, and you did not pre-register by February 20, you will need to go to a Vote Center for same-day registration and voting. All voters can confirm their current registration status online at www.smcvote.gov by clicking on the “My Election Info” button.
Conditional Voter Registration (CVR)
Voters who miss the February 20, 2024 voter registration deadline may “conditionally” register to vote and receive their ballot immediately at any Vote Center. When a conditional ballot is cast, the Registration & Elections Division processes the registration, determines the individual’s eligibility, and validates the individual’s information. If the voter is eligible to vote in San Mateo County and has not voted elsewhere in the state, their registration becomes permanent, and the conditional ballot will be counted.
Voting Rights for Persons on Parole
In 2020, California voters passed a constitutional amendment to restore voting rights for individuals on parole for felony convictions. Whether or not the person was previously registered to vote, a new voter registration application must be completed once the person is released from custody.
Early Voting Period Runs February 5 to March 4
Registered voters in San Mateo County were mailed their ballots in February. Official Ballot Drop Boxes are open. Additionally, Vote Centers are currently open in San Mateo, Redwood City and South San Francisco. For more information on the March 5, 2024 Presidential Primary Election, please call or text 650.312.5222, visit www.smcacre.gov, or follow us on Twitter and Instagram @smcvote.