Be a Voter
Having trouble making sense of the voting deadlines and ballot measures? Here are some nonpartisan resources for the Tuesday, November 3, 2020 General Election to help get you started.
All registered voters in California will be mailed a Vote by Mail ballot to ensure a safe and accessible voting option during the COVID-19 pandemic. Find out more here. Mailing of Vote by Mail ballots begins by October 5. If this is your first time voting by mail, you may find these frequently asked questions from the LA County Clerk helpful to your process. Mailing back your ballot is just one way to return to vote. See all your options here to help you determine which method is best for you. If you are still waiting for your Vote By Mail ballot to arrive, or want to track it after you’ve sent it in or dropped it off, you can track its progress here. If you are temporarily at another address where you need your ballot sent, you can apply here to request a temporary address change, or if you need to update your permanent address.
Of course voting in person is still an option, and you don’t have to wait until election day to cast your vote. Beginning Saturday, October 24 at some Vote Centers, and Friday October 30 at all Vote Centers, early voting will be available between the hours of 10am and 7pm. On Election Day on November 3, all Vote Centers will be open from 7am until 8pm. To find the Vote Center most convenient to you, use this locator. If you would like general county-wide voting information, check out Los Angeles County Voter Information, which includes helpful information including your voter’s bill of rights and information on time off from work for voting in California.
Still need to register? You have until October 19 to register online. Find out everything you need to know about California Elections and Voter Information. You can check your registration status or register to vote. New citizens who will be at least 18 years of age at the time of the election are also eligible to register to vote. Military and overseas voters can find applicable information about their voter registration here. If you are a California resident aged 16 or 17 and you would like to vote as soon as you are able, you can even pre-register to vote. If you have any further questions about voter registration you can find more answers here. And if you were hoping to figure out your registration via text, you’re in luck. TurboVote is a tool that makes voting easy by sending text or email messages to verify voter registration status, remind you about important election deadlines, and find your polling place location.
The presidency is not the only choice on the ballot. There are state and local races, as well as state and local propositions. Registered voters can find out about getting their sample ballot in order to see everything they will be voting on. For information about national, statewide, and local candidates, as well as state and local ballot initiatives, you can look at the California Secretary of State’s Voter Guide.
Other organizations also offer nonpartisan guides to help you make important voting decisions. BallotReady allows you to build your ballot by diving into every candidate and referendum, including candidate’s backgrounds, stances on issues, and experience. Project Vote Smart is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office. BestColleges.com is a nonpartisan voting guide designed for college students, including a bipartisan key issues guide and voter registration information for each state. ProCon.org is a nonprofit nonpartisan public charity that uses professional researchers and rigorous editorial standards to present pros and cons of many current issues.
There are also several fact checking organizations to help you understand which claims by candidates and organizations are true, and which are false or misleading. Annenberg Political Fact Check is designed to help voters by “monitoring the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases.” It includes information on special interest groups behind television ads. Politifact is a fact-checking website founded by editors of Time Magazine, in conjunction with Congressional Quarterly. Newsguard is a browser extension that provides an easy way to evaluate websites: “Green-Red ratings compiled by a team of trained journalists signal if a website is trying to get it right, has a hidden agenda, or knowingly publishes falsehoods or propaganda.” Center for Public Integrity is a well-documented investigative journalism organization and winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 2014 and 2017.
No matter who and what you decide to vote for, you deserve to have all the available factual information at your fingertips in order to exercise your constitutional right. Thank you for being a voter!