Contact: Mark Church, Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder
Alternate: Jim Irizarry, Assistant Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder

(Redwood City, CA) San Mateo County Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder, Mark Church, announced today that Monday, May 21, 2018 is the deadline to register to vote in the June 5, 2018 Statewide Direct Primary Election.

Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible to register to vote, a person must be a U.S. citizen; at least 18 years old by Election Day; not in prison or on parole for a felony conviction; and not deemed by a court to be mentally incompetent to register to vote.

If you are 16 or 17 years old, you can pre-register to vote.

Registration Deadline Requirements 
Voter Registration Forms sent by mail must be postmarked on or before May 21. To register online, visit the San Mateo County official elections website at www.smcacre.org and click on “Register to Vote.” Registrations online must be submitted by midnight on May 21.

Voter Registration Forms are available at the following locations:

• Public Libraries
• City and Town Halls
• USPS Offices
• Department of Motor Vehicles Offices
• Any of the county’s Vote Centers

A full list of Vote Center locations can be found online at smcacre.org/current-election.

Conditional Voter Registration (CVR) 
Voters who miss the voter registration deadline have the opportunity to “conditionally” register to vote and vote provisionally on the same day at a county Vote Center. Under this new law, once the county elections official processes the affidavit of registration, determines the individual’s eligibility to register, and validates the individual’s information, the registration becomes permanent and the CVR provisional ballot will be counted. 

Vote Centers currently open for the June Election from 8 a.m.to 5 p.m.:

• 40 Tower Road, San Mateo
• 555 County Center, 1st Floor, Redwood City
• 840 West Orange Avenue, South San Francisco (South San Francisco Main Library)
• 550 Bell Street, East Palo Alto (Lewis and Joan Platt East Palo Alto Family YMCA)

Five additional Vote Centers will open daily beginning May 26 through June 4 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (including weekends and Memorial Day)

All 39 Vote Centers will open June 2 through Election Day, Tuesday, June 5 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Changes of Name, Address or Party Affiliation
Voters must re-register whenever they move to a new address, change their name or would like to change political party affiliation. Registered voters who re-register are updating their existing record and not creating a new one.

Confirming Current Registration Status
Eligible and registered voters can confirm their current registration status online at smcacre.org/current-election by clicking on “Check My Registration.” The latest county registration statistics, updated weekly, are available under “Voter Registration.”

New Election Model for June 5, 2018
The June 5, 2018 Statewide Direct Primary Election is the first election conducted under the California Voter’s Choice Act (VCA). The VCA implements the All-Mailed Ballot/Vote Center model, with every registered voter receiving a Vote-by-Mail Ballot through the mail. The voted ballot may then be returned by mail with postage pre-paid envelopes, dropped off at any Vote Center or Ballot Drop-off Box located throughout the county.

Vote Centers replace traditional polling places and are open for voting throughout the early voting period. Vote Centers provide expanded voter services such as voter registration, multilingual assistance, and disabled access voting options. 

For more information on the California Voter’s Choice Act and the new All-Mailed Ballot/Vote Center election model, please call 650.312.5222, visit www.smcacre.org or follow us on Twitter @smcvote.