Time Remains to Register to Vote

If you missed yesterday’s deadline to register to vote, Secretary of State Alex Padilla has your back, even for some convicted criminals. “Conditional voter registration” allows U.S. citizens to fill out a voter registration card at a county election office and cast a ballot that same day, Padilla’s office announced in a press release today. After registration has been verified, the vote is then counted.

Padilla also clarified voting rights for people with prior criminal convictions, including Californians “subject to post-release community supervision or mandatory supervision under Realignment.” U.S. citizens over the age of 18 and not in jail or on probation for a felony, and who are not under court-ordered competency restrictions, can register to vote. The website RestoreYourVote.sos.ca.gov can walk you through the verification, and also links to a registration page. However, to register late, conditional voter registration can be accomplished at one of the county’s three elections offices, as well as the same-day casting of your vote.

In Santa Barbara County, elections office hours and locations are:
Santa Barbara — 4440 Calle Real, open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Lompoc — 401 East Cypress Avenue, Room 102, open 9 a.m.-noon and 1-4 p.m.
Santa Maria — 511 East Lakeside Parkway, Suite 134 (in the Betteravia Government Center), open 8 a.m.-noon and 1-5 p.m.

All election offices will be open 7 a.m.-8 p.m. on Election Day, November 6, to receive ballots. For more information, call (805) 568-2200 or (800) 722-8683, or go to the County Elections Office website.