Voter Registration Skyrockets In CA; Track Your Mail-In Ballot

CALIFORNIA — A record number of California voters are registered to vote in the March 3 primary, according to a news release from Secretary of State Alex Padilla. More than 80 percent of eligible voters in California are registered to vote, which is the highest percentage of registered voters heading into the primary in the past 68 years.

As of January 3, there were 20,428,270 registered voters, which is an increase of 3.16 million registered voters since the last Report of Registration recorded at a similar point in the presidential election cycle, the news release said.

"California entered 2020 with a record 20.4 million registered voters — and I only expect that figure to climb as we reach the Presidential Primary in March and General Election in November," Secretary of State Alex Padilla said. "I’m encouraging all Californians to verify their voter registration status. If you need to register for the first time or update your registration — including political party — you can do so at RegisterToVote.ca.gov. These steps only take minutes to make sure you are registered and ready to vote."

California teens are also joining in on the voting process, with more than 500,000 16- and 17-year-olds pre-registering since the program launched in fall 2016. Teens who pre-register to vote have their registration automatically activated when they turn 18, the news release said. As of February 3, there are currently 156,022 pre-registered teens.

Secretary Padilla has visited 82 high schools to promote pre-registration, and the Secretary of State’s office also created web portal with resources for teenagers to organize their own pre-registration drives on their campus and community.

"Whenever I talk to high school students it is clear that they care about their communities and democracy," Padilla said. "I am so proud that pre-registration has now helped over a half million California teens take their first steps into the democratic process. I am challenging California teens, school administrators, and parents to help us add another 100,000 pre-registrations by the November 2020 General Election."

Eligible 16- and 17-year-olds can pre-register to vote online at registertovote.ca.gov.

Voters Can Now Track Vote-By-Mail Ballots

Voters who opt to vote-by-mail can now track their vote-by-mail ballots in 25 counties thanks to a new "Where's My Ballot?" tool launched by the Secretary of State's office. Voters can sign up online to receive automated notifications about their vote-by-mail ballots.

Voters who sign up for the program will receive automatic updates when the county elections office mails the voter’s ballot, the county receives the ballot, counted the ballot and if there are any issues with the voter's ballot, the Secretary of State's office news release said.

"Shoppers are already used to receiving updates on their online retail purchases, from shipment to delivery. Now we can offer the same service to voters," Padilla said. "Voters who sign up for ‘Where’s My Ballot?’ can rest assured that their vote-by-mail ballots are accounted for at every stage of delivery. Signing up takes just a couple of minutes, and voters will enjoy automatic updates on the delivery status of their vote-by-mail ballot for each and every election."

The 25 counties in California that are currently offering "Where’s My Ballot?" are:

• Amador
• El Dorado
• Fresno
• Glenn
• Kern
• Los Angeles
• Marin
• Mariposa
• Merced
• Monterey
• Orange
• Placer
• Riverside
• Sacramento
• San Benito
• San Joaquin
• San Luis Obispo
• Santa Clara
• Shasta
• Sutter
• Tehama
• Tuolumne
• Ventura
• Yolo
• Yuba