How to vote · 2026
California
Ballot mailed to every voter
Every date below comes from the California election office and links to the page that states it. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026.
Dates and rules
Registration, mail ballots, and early voting
Registration deadlineOctober 19, 2026Standard registration (online, in person, or postmarked by mail) closes Oct. 19, 2026 (15 days before). After that, same-day 'conditional' registration and provisional voting are available Oct. 20 through Election Day at county offices and vote centers.
Mail ballots first sentOctober 5, 2026Every active registered voter is mailed a ballot starting 29 days before Election Day (Oct. 5, 2026; Cal. Elec. Code 3017/4101). No application needed.
Return rulePostmarked by Election Day and received within 7 days (by Nov. 10, 2026)
Early in-person votingOctober 5, 2026through November 3, 2026 · In-person early voting available at county elections offices from Oct. 5; additional vote centers open Oct. 24 or Oct. 31 in Voter's Choice Act counties. Varies by county.
Official CA election site ↗Dates last verified against the official site September 1, 2026.Sources: [1] USA.gov directory of official state election offices[2] All-mail; ballots mailed from Oct. 5, 2026[3] CEIR 2026 voter registration deadlines (June 25, 2026 dataset; per-mode deadlines and same-day registration windows)[4] NCSL Table 7: statutory rule for when absentee/mail ballots are mailed[5] NCSL Table 11 (updated Dec. 2025): ballot receipt/postmark deadline
On the ballot
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The full table of mail-ballot send dates, registration deadlines, and early-voting windows for all fifty states and DC, plus the documented record of government actions on mail voting this cycle.
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