Today is National Voter Registration Day. Here’s how to register in California

If you missed out on voting in the California recall election, which drew national attention and ended in a thumping victory for Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier this month, you don’t have to let another election go by without making your voice heard.

Today is National Voter Registration Day, an annual event that takes place on the fourth Tuesday in September. Voting is easier than ever now that Newsom has signed a bill to make pandemic-era mail-in elections permanent. But you must be registered in order to get your ballot by mail. Here’s how to register to vote in California.

The rules

To be eligible to vote in upcoming elections, you need to submit a registration form at least 15 days prior to an election. The next scheduled election in California is the statewide direct primary election, on June 7. That means voters must complete registration by May 23, according to the California Secretary of State.

If you miss that deadline, you can register as a conditional voter. In that case, you’d fill out a provisional ballot — either at a voting location or at your county’s election office — that will be counted only after your eligibility to vote is confirmed.

In order to register, you must be:

• A U.S. citizen;

• a California resident;

• at least 18 on or before Election Day;

• not in prison for the conviction of a felony;

• and not prohibited from voting by a court because of mental incompetency.

Register online

To register online, head to the California Secretary of State’s website. You’ll need your California driver license or your California identification card number, the last four digits of your Social Security number and your date of birth.

If you’re missing identification documents, you can still register to vote. Local elections offices will assign you a number to identify you as a voter, according to the Secretary of State. If you don’t have a license or ID card number, but you’ve entered your other personal information, the registration website will create a pre-filled application that you will then need to print, sign and mail. If a driver license or Social Security number was not provided upon registration, new voters may also need to show a form of ID or proof of residency the first time they go to vote as well.

On the same website used for registration, you can also check your registration status. This includes checking:

• Where you’re registered to vote;

• what political party preference you listed;

• what language you selected for election materials;

• the status of your vote-by-mail or provisional ballot;

• your polling place;

• information on upcoming elections;

• contact information for local elections’ offices;

• your preferences for receiving state and county voter guides prior to elections.

If you haven’t voted in a while, make sure to check your registration status. Generally, you don’t have to re-register in every election, but voters who have missed several elections can have their registration canceled in some cases, according to the Secretary of State.

On paper

You can also send in your registration to vote by mail. All the same rules apply, but to register, you’ll need to pick up a form. You can do this a couple of ways: pick up an application at a Department of Motor Vehicles field office, post office, public library or government office. You can also request an application from your county election office. Here are addresses and numbers for the Sacramento region and county election offices:

Sacramento County

• 916-875-6451

• voterinfo@saccounty.net

• 7000 65th St., Suite A Sacramento, CA 95823

Yolo County

• 530-666-8133, 916-375-6490, or 800-649-9943

• elections@yolocounty.org

• P.O. Box 1820 Woodland, CA 95776-1820

El Dorado County

• 530-621-7480

• elections@edcgov.us

• P.O. Box 678001 Placerville, CA 95667

Placer County

• 530-886-5650 or 800-824-8683

• election@placer.ca.gov

• P.O. Box 5278 Auburn, CA 95604

You can also request an application by mail from the Secretary of State by calling 800-345-VOTE, or 8683.

Pre-register

Teenagers who are 16 or 17 years old can also pre-register to vote. When you pre-register, you will automatically be registered to vote once you turn 18.