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

(Redwood City, CA) While eligible citizens may register to vote or change their political affiliation through Election Day at any San Mateo County Vote Center, the deadline to register online, or by mailing a form, is February 18, 2020, announced Mark Church, San Mateo County’s Chief Elections Officer and Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder. Voter Registration forms sent by mail must be postmarked on or before February 18.

Voter Registration Forms are available at the following locations:

• Public Libraries
• City and Town Halls
• Post Offices
• Department of Motor Vehicles Offices
• Any of the County’s Vote Centers
• Registration & Elections Division

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. Persons who are pre-registered will automatically become a registered voter on their eighteenth birthday.

Voters can confirm their current registration status online at www.smcvote.org by clicking on the “My Election Info” button. The latest county registration statistics, which are updated biweekly, are available under “Voter Registration.”

A full list of Vote Center locations can be found online at www.smcvote.org and clicking “All Vote Center Locations” or at www.smcacre.org/vote-center-locations.

Conditional Voter Registration (CVR)
Voters who miss the February 18, 2020 voter registration deadline may “conditionally” register to vote and receive their ballot immediately at any county Vote Center. When a conditional ballot is cast, the Registration & Elections Division processes the registration, determines the individual’s eligibility to register, and validates the individual’s information. If the voter was indeed eligible to vote in San Mateo County, the registration becomes permanent, and the conditional ballot will be counted.

Due to new state law (SB 207), Voters with an active registration may update their party affiliation through Election Day, without needing to re-register or vote conditionally. Voters who change their names, have cancelled or pending registrations, or are registering in San Mateo County for the first time must still vote a conditional ballot.

All-Mailed Ballot – Vote Center Election Model 
The March 3, 2020 Presidential Primary Election will be the fourth election San Mateo County conducts under the California Voter’s Choice Act (VCA) model. It is the first Presidential Primary Election to be held under the VCA.

Traditional polling places have been replaced by Vote Centers, which will be open for voting for an extended period, and which will offer expanded voter services, including voter registration, multilingual assistance, and disabled access voting options. Every registered voter will also receive a Vote by Mail ballot, which voters can return with no postage required in any mailbox or into secure county ballot drop boxes located throughout the county.

For more information, call 650.312.5222, visit www.smcacre.org or follow us on Twitter and Instagram @smcvote.