May 23 is the deadline for eligible California citizens to register to vote for the first time or to update their voter registration information for the June 7 presidential primary election.
Secretary of State Alex Padilla has provided the following tips for voters registered with no-party preference planning to vote in the June 7 primary.
“The June 7, 2016, presidential primary is fast approaching, but voters registered with no-party preference still have time to request a partisan ballot with presidential candidates,” Padilla said.
The Democratic, American Independent and Libertarian parties allow persons who registered to vote as having no-party preference to cast a ballot in their presidential primary.
Voters with no-party preference who vote at the polls can request a Democratic Party, American Independent Party or Libertarian Party ballot on election day from a poll worker.
Voters with no-party preference who vote by mail were sent a post card from their county elections office asking if the voter would like to receive a ballot with presidential candidates from those three parties. Voters who did not return this post card will receive a non-partisan ballot without presidential candidates.
“There is still time for voters with no-party preference to request a new ballot —even if they have already received a ballot in the mail,” Padilla added.
To request a ballot with presidential candidates, contact the Riverside County elections office no later than May 31 to request a vote-by-mail ballot with presidential candidates from those three parties.
An alternative choice is to bring the vote-by-mail ballot to the polls on election day and exchange it for a ballot with presidential candidates from those three parties. If you have lost your original vote-by-mail ballot, you will have to vote on a provisional ballot at the polls — your vote will still be counted.
One can also choose to bring their vote-by-mail ballot to an early voting location and exchange it for a ballot with presidential candidates from those three parties. If the vote-by-mail ballot has been lost, you will have to vote a provisional ballot at the polls and your vote will still be counted.
Contact the county elections office for early voting locations and availability or visit www.voteinfo.net/Elections/20160607/docs/Early_Vote.pdf
Voters registered with no party preference who would like to vote in the June 7 presidential primary for a Republican Party, Green Party, or Peace and Freedom Party presidential candidate must re-register to vote with one of those respective parties by May 23, 2016.
Californians can check their voter registration status through their county elections office. Riverside County has online tools that allow voters to check their voter registration.