What's new in elections

Conditional “Same Day” Voter Registration

Voters who miss the deadline to register to vote, which is May 21, may still register and vote up to and including Election Day.

Persons interested in registering and voting after May 21, must go to a designated location. For the June 5, 2018 election, we will offer conditional “Same Day” registration at the following locations:

  • Santa Cruz County Elections Department – 701 Ocean St., Room 310, Santa Cruz
  • Watsonville City Clerk’s Office – 275 Main Street, Suite 400, Watsonville
  • UCSC Bay Tree Conference Center – Quarry Plaza (Saturday – Tuesday, June 2 to 5 only)

Automated voter registration at DMV

Persons who go to the DMV to renew or apply for a driver’s license or state ID are now registered to vote if they are eligible meeting US citizenship requirements and age. Eligible applicants will have to opt out of registration if they do not want to be a registered voter.

Eligible citizens age 16 and 17 can pre-register to vote. When they turn 18, they will be automatically activated as a voter.

Improvements to vote-by-mail

1.     The postage is paid on the vote-by-mail return envelope for Santa Cruz County voters, so no need to find a stamp!

2.     As long as your mail ballot is postmarked on or before Election Day, and received by the county elections official by the Friday after the election, it will be considered received on time. Be aware that mail can take more than 3 days for delivery, so mail early!

3.     A quicker option is to drop your ballot off at one of our seven 24/7 drop boxes located throughout the county. See instructions mailed with your ballot for locations or refer to the vote-by-mail page in this guide.

4.     A new law allows voters to return their ballot on Election Day to any polling place in California. However, we encourage our Santa Cruz County voters to return it to a polling place in Santa Cruz County to avoid any delay in counting your vote.

5.     You must sign your vote-by-mail envelope in YOUR own handwriting. If you forget to sign it, you have 8 days after the Election to provide us with your signature.

phone  Call Santa Cruz County Elections at 831-454-2060

Email Email info@votescount.com