Today, Oct. 22, is the last day to register to vote in the Nov. 6 statewide general election.
And this is a big one, with jurisdictions seeing significant increases in voter registration in an election that will determine California’s next governor and three hotly contested Redwood City council seats (See Climate columnist Mark Simon’s guide on the council candidates here).
Voter registration forms sent by mail must be postmarked on or before Oct. 22. To register online, visit the San Mateo County official elections website at www.smcacre.org and click on “Register to Vote.” Registrations online must be submitted by midnight tonight.
If you don’t have a voter registration form, you can fetch one at public libraries, city and town halls, post offices, the Department of Motor Vehicles offices, and any of the county’s vote centers. The list of Vote Center locations can be found online at smcacre.org/current-election.
Voters who miss today’s registration deadline can “conditionally” register to vote and vote provisionally on the same day at any County Vote Center, according to the San Mateo County Elections Office.
“Under this law, once the county elections official processes the affidavit of registration, determines the individual’s eligibility to register, and validates the individual’s information, the registration becomes permanent and the CVR provisional ballot will be counted,” the county said.
Vote Centers are currently open for the November Election from 8 a.m.to 5 p.m. at 40 Tower Road in San Mateo; 555 County Center, 1st Floor, Redwood City; 840 West Orange Avenue, South San Francisco; and 550 Bell Street, East Palo Alto. From there, five more Vote Centers will open daily beginning Oct. 27 through Nov. 2 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Thirty-nine more Vote Centers will be open Saturday, Nov. 3 through Monday, Nov. 5 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. All Vote Centers will be open Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 6 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Extra notes: Voters who move to a new address, change their name or would like to change party affiliation must re-register; you can confirm your current registration status online at smcacre.org/current-election by clicking on “Check My Registration;” San Mateo County residents were delayed in receiving their mailed ballots for more than a week, after a San Mateo County Board of Education race was inadvertently left off the ballot, as reported by Simon.
