Register to Vote

Who May Register And Vote:

A person is entitled to register to vote if they are:

• A U.S. citizen
• A resident of California
• At least 18 years of age on the date of the election
• Not currently serving a state or federal prison term for the conviction of a felony
• Not currently found mentally incompetent to vote by a court

California election law denies the right to vote to persons who have been determined mentally incompetent.

How And Where to Register To Vote:

To register to vote, a person needs to complete and sign a Voter Registration Form, and send it to the Elections Office of the County Clerk-Recorder-Registrar.

Voter Registration Forms are available at the Elections Office, 100 Courthouse Square Room 11, Downieville, CA, and at your local post office. You may contact the Elections Office by phone or email to have one mailed to you.

Registering to vote is now easier than ever thanks to the new online voter registration application developed by the California Secretary of State, in coordination with the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), California’s 58 county elections officials, and their election management system vendors.

Information on your Registration:

“Information on your voter registration affidavit will be used by elections officials to send you official information on the voting process, such as the location of your polling place and the issues and candidates that will appear on the ballot. Commercial use of voter registration information is prohibited by law and is a misdemeanor. Voter information may be provided to a candidate for office, a ballot measure committee, or other persons for election, scholarly, journalistic, political, or governmental purposes, as determined by the Secretary of State. Driver’s license and social security numbers, or your signature as shown on your voter registration card, cannot be released for these purposes. If you have any questions about the use of voter information or wish to report suspected misuse of such information, please call the Secretary of State’s Voter Protection and Assistance Hotline. 800-345-VOTE (8683) 

“Certain voters facing life-threatening situations may qualify for conditional voter status. For more information, please contact the Secretary of State’s Safe At Home program or visit the Secretary of State’s Internet Web site.”

Safe at Home Program

Online Voter Registration

Online Voter Registration | California Secretary of State

Registration Information for Military and Overseas Voters

Military & Overseas Voters :: California Secretary of State

When You Need to Re-Register to Vote:

If you:

• Changed your name or;
• Moved within the County and need to change your address or;
• Wish to change your political party

You may simply complete another Voter Registration Form and mail it in, and we will update your registration to reflect the change.

Deadline To Register For An Election:

In California, the deadline to register to vote is 15 days prior to each local and statewide election. Once you are registered, you will remain on the rolls and be eligible to vote, until you move out of the county or become ineligible. Failure to vote in an election does not make you ineligible. To find out if you are already registered to vote in Sierra County, you may contact our office or click https://voterstatus.sos.ca.gov/.

Conditional Voter Registration:

You can now take advantage of our Conditional Voter Registration option, which extends the existing deadline to 14 days before and on Election Day. Visit the Conditional Voter Registration page for more information.