Register to Vote

Election Day is just weeks away – Tuesday, Nov. 5. We will be electing a president and leaders at both the state and local levels. We will also be deciding on issues that impact us, such as housing, children’s programs, climate change and more. Be sure your voice is heard and vote.

Counties will begin to send out vote-by-mail ballots the week of Oct. 7 to all Californians who are registered to vote. In order to receive a ballot in the mail, you must register to vote by Oct. 21.

After voting, your ballot must postmarked on or before Election Day. You can also bring it to a voting center or any of the 37 official drop boxes through 8 p.m., Nov. 7. Locations can be found at VoterGuide.SFElections.org, under the “General Information” tab.

Since 2020, California voters have been able to track their ballot. Just go to WheresMyBallot.sos.ca.gov to make sure it gets to its destination.

If you have not registered to vote, there are three ways to do so:

• Online: Visit RegisterToVote.ca.gov.

• Paper Application: Forms are available at U.S. Post Offices and your local public libraries. Once filled out, just mail it in.

• In-Person: Drop by San Francisco’s Election Department in City Hall to fill out a voter registration form.

Note that it takes two to three days to process your registration.

If you’re not sure whether you’re registered to vote, or which address you have on file, you can check your voter status with the secretary of state’s website at voterstatus.sos.ca.gov. Among the things you can look up:

• Whether or not you are registered to vote.

• Where you are registered to vote.

• Your political party preference.

• Your language preference for election materials.

After the Oct. 21 deadline, you must register to vote in person. Just visit San Francisco’s City Hall Voting Center or a local polling place and tell a poll worker that you want to register to vote. You’ll then be able to cast a provisional ballot up until 8 p.m. on Election Day. If you meet the requirements to be a voter, then your ballot will count.

If you want to do more this election and can speak another language, perhaps you can serve as a poll worker. San Francisco experienced a shortage of bilingual poll workers the last election, and city administrators don’t want the same to happen this time around. It’s only one day, working 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Nov. 5. Duties include completing training, setting up/breaking down the voting site on Election Day, helping voters who have questions and protecting election integrity. There is a $225-$295 stipend available. To learn more, visit SF.gov/serve-poll-worker.

Help spread the word to your friends and family about the election and the upcoming voter deadlines. Then be sure to start your research early on each candidate and measure. The more people we can get to participate, the better for our democracy.

Phil Ting represents the 19th Assembly District, which includes the west side of San Francisco along with the communities of Broadmoor, Colma and Daly City as well as part of South San Francisco.