If you are 18 years old and a native or naturalized US citizen, you have the right to vote. However, that does not mean that you will automatically be able to vote on Election Day. First you must register to vote.
You will be able to cast one vote in one place. It is up to you to decide where you want to register. You can register as a San Diego County resident, no matter how long you have lived here, or you can choose to register as an absentee voter from your hometown.
The recall process allows voters to decide whether to remove elected public officials from office before their term is over.
A recall ballot will ask voters two questions:
- In this recall election, the first question will ask voters "yes" or "no" to remove the governor from office.
- In the second part, voters will be asked to select a replacement candidate.
If more than 50% of voters vote "yes" to recall the governor, the replacement candidate who gets the most votes is elected for the remainder of the term of office. If a majority of voters vote "no" on the first question, then the recall has failed, and the governor will remain in office.
We recommend the state's recall election page and ballotpedia. We will update with more sources once they begin to become available.
Yes, if you are a US citizen who is over 18 years old, and not currently serving in prison or under a conservatorship. (State Rules Here)
You must register to vote in order to vote in California elections. You must be registered at your current address.
You can register if you are living in California as of August 30.
The deadline to register to vote is 8/30/21, 15 days prior to Election Day. You must submit the voter registration application by midnight on the registration deadline day. A timestamp will be attached to your online voter registration application. If you register to vote using a paper application, it must be postmarked or hand-delivered to your county elections office.
Please note that the registration deadline for the recall election is August 30.
You can register at this link.After August 30, you may still be able to vote, but you will have to conditionally register in person at a county elections office.
If you did not register to vote by the 15-day voter registration deadline, in most elections, you may conditionally register to vote and cast a provisional ballot by visiting your county elections office, or a designated voting location during the period of 14 days prior to, and including, Election Day. Once your county elections official processes your affidavit of registration, determines your eligibility to register, and validates your information, your registration becomes permanent and your provisional ballot will be counted.
If you register after the deadline-conditional voter registration- you will cast a provisional ballot. Conditional Voter Registration will ask for all required eligibility information, including signature. Once county elections official processes affidavit of registration and determines eligibility to register, and validates information, registration becomes permanent and provisional ballot is counted.
Provisional ballots take additional time to process to confirm voter eligibility and that the voter is legally entitled to vote in the contest.
For this election, every active voter who registered by August 30, 2021 will be mailed a vote-by-mail ballot.
Ballots will be mailed by county elections officials beginning about August 16.
It will be mailed to the address at which you are registered to vote on August 16.
If you want your ballot mailed to a new San Diego address, please update your address by re-registering as soon as possible.
Ballots are not forwardable by the postal service.
If you are registered in another county, you need to contact that county's Registrar of Voters office to have your ballot sent directly to you in San Diego.
If you are registered in San Diego County, but your ballot is sent to a place where you no longer live, then either the ballot will be returned ot the Registrar of Voters and suspended. Any ballot sent to the incorrect address will be suspended when you either request a new ballot, vote in person, or notify the Registrar of Voters of an address change.
Since the people added the power of the initiative, referendum, and recall to the California Constitution in 1911, there have been 54 previous attempts to recall California Governors. Only one Governor has been recalled – Gray Davis in 2003.
Citizens who will be at least 18 years of age at the time of the next election may register to vote.
Only if you've moved. If you live in the same place where you were registered in 2020, you should still be registered there. But it never hurts to check!
No! If you are registered to vote elsewhere, you need to declare your former address when you register again so that your voter registration there can be canceled. You can't vote twice (or in two places)!
You do not need to register with a political party to vote in any California election except the presidential primary. To vote in the presidential primary in California, see below. Other states have other rules.
- Registered Democrats will be able to cast a vote for one of the Democrats running for the presidential nomination.
- Registered Republicans will be able to cast a vote for one of the Republicans running for the presidential nomination.
Nonpartisan voters in San Diego county:
The American Independent, Democratic and Libertarian parties are allowing Nonpartisan voters to take part in their presidential primaries. But Nonpartisan voters must request one of these ballots to vote for that party’s presidential candidate. Your status as a Nonpartisan voter will not change. If you want to request a ballot for a different county in California, you need to go to THAT county's registrar of voters page.
The Green, Peace and Freedom and Republican parties are not allowing Nonpartisan voters ;to take part in their presidential primaries. Nonpartisan voters wishing to vote for one of these parties’ presidential candidates must re-register to do so.
If you work in California, you probably have to pay California taxes. Registering to vote does not automatically affect your tax status, according to the CA Franchise Tax Board.
No. You need to re-register to vote whenever you move to a new address, change your name, or change your political party preference. When completing a new affidavit of registration, you should provide both their new and previous registration information.
As a student, you can claim either a school or home address as your voting address, but not both!
If you live in the Residence Halls, your campus address is not just a mailing address.
Enter 5998 Alcala Park Unit ____, San Diego, CA 92110 as your Address Where You Live.
If you do not live on campus, you cannot vote on campus. You will vote on election day at your local precinct, or by mail, if you choose. If you request a mail ballot, you can turn in that ballot on election day at the Degehri Alumni Center.
- If you are a California voter, you must contact your county elections official to request your ballot be sent to your overseas address.
- If you are not a California voter, you will need to contact election officials in your home county or town to get an absentee ballot.
We have free notary services on campus!
For more details, contact Dr. Dominguez at caseydominguez@sandiego.edu.

