The last day to register voters is Oct 20, 2008.

Vote-By-Mail ballots are sent out 29 days in advance of the election.  This year it should be Oct 6, 2008.  This is also the first day to Vote-By-Mail.

The last day to request a Vote-By-Mail ballot is Oct 28, 2008.

Election Day is November 4, 2008.

The Secretary of State and county Registrars now have a statewide voter database to help keep voter records up-to-date and to verify information.

The term "Permanent Absentee Voter" is being changed to "Vote-By-Mail Voter".  This may cause some confusion so be sure to clarify that they mean the same thing.  Precincts that have less than 250 voters may be "Vote-By-Mail Precincts" -- I'm not sure if that is universally true.

Taking a Vote-By-Mail ballot to a polling place will have no effect on your Vote-By-Mail status.  You can do this for as many elections as you like and remain a Vote-By-Mail voter.

If a Vote-By-Mail voter does not vote in two general elections, the county or state will send you a card asking the voter to confirm s/he wishes to remain a Vote-By-Mail voter.

Ballots received by the elections office after the election day deadline will not be counted.

Vote-By-Mail ballots that received by the elections office by election day are counted first.  Vote-By-Mail ballots that are dropped off at a polling place are counted a day or two after the election, once it is confirmed the voter has not submitted only one ballot.  However, valid Vote-By-Mail ballots, regardless of how submitted, are always counted.

Generally, the only Vote-By-Mail ballots that are not counted (besides duplicate ballots) are those that are received unsigned and there is not enough time for them to be returned to the voter to correct the error.

The elections office can start "processing" Vote-By-Mail ballots 7 days before the election.  No results may be reported, however, until after the polls close on election day.

Anyone convicted of a felony and still incarcerated in prison or on parole cannot vote.  However, if the prospective registrant will be out of prison and off parole 15 days prior to the election (e.g. Oct 20, 2008) -- the last day to register to vote for the next election -- then s/he can submit a form and the county or state -- I'm not sure which one -- will process the registration once that person has finished serving his or her term.

Note: If you are registering voters outside of a prison -- which should generally be the case -- then all you need to do is ask "If you are a felon, are you still on parole?"  If s/he answers "yes" then determine if s/he will be off parole by Oct 20, 2008.  If yes, s/he can register.

Probation is not the same as parole and is not a concern for this purpose.

Who are are incarcerated but not yet convicted of a felony are still allowed to vote.

Voter files regularly get purged for various reasons (e.g. voter has registered somewhere else).  As long as a voter receives the Voter Information Pamphlet from the state or the county, then the voter is still registered and should expect to vote in the next election.  If a voter does not receive a pamphlet, it would be in his or her interest to check with their registrar to confirm they are still registered.  

This should be a rare situation but it never hurts to double check.

A voter must re-register to vote if any of the following conditions are met:

1. The voter has moved.
2. The voter has changed his/her name.
3. The voter has changed their political party.

If a voter is unsure if his/her registration is up-to-date, there is no penalty for re-registering -- better safe than sorry.

When approaching a potential voter, we do not recommend that you ask "Are you registered to vote?"

DO ASK

Below are my notes on how to fill out the form.  If you have any questions about these notes, please refer to the CalVoter FAQ or go to website of the California Secretary of State or your local County Registrar for clarification.

Section 1 - Note that the first field is now the First (or Given) Name -- the old form started with the Last (or Family) Name.  Middle Name is not marked "optional" but the registration should be accepted without one.

Section 2 / 3 - The Last Name is now here and the Title (e.g. Mr., Mrs., etc.) is optional.

section 4 - Home address is the voter's physical address and this is a required field unless the person is "Homeless" and then Line 6 is used.  Apartment or Unit # is one of the most frequently overlooked fields.  Be sure to ask your registrant, "Is this a house or an apartment?"  Also, ask the registrant, "Is this where you get your mail?"  If not, make sure s/he completes Sections 7 and 8, Mailing Address.

Section 5 - City, State, Zip and County -- all self-explanatory and required.

Section 6 - Homeless people still have a right to exercise their franchise.  If a voter does not have a home and thus no physical address, use Line 6 to describe their most likely "home" area (e.g.  two cross streets, bridge etc.).

Sections 7 & 8 - Not everyone gets their US Mail delivered to their home. This is where they enter their Mailing address.  Also, if the registrant does not a Home Address (e.g. is "homeless") then they must provide a Mailing address.

Section 9 / 10 - Date of Birth and US State or foreign country of birth are required.  Note the city of birth is not needed.

Section 11 - A California driver's license or ID card number is required, if the registrant has one.  Otherwise, s/he can provide the last four (4) digits of their Social Security Number (SSN), if the registrant has one.  If the registrant cannot remember their SSN number, the Registrar or Secretary of State's office will look it up.  California now has a state-wide voter database.

Section 12 / 13 - The Email address and Phone number are optional.  However, if you are participating in the Democratic Party's bounty program the local club or committee may get a bonus if you get either of these fields.  Note that "phone numbers are posted at polling places on election day." 

Section 14 -  Registering for a political party is optional but those who do not should still mark the "No" box on the right.  A "Decline to State" or "independent" (with lowercase "i") should mark "No" however, if the registrant marks "Other party" and writes in "DNS" or "Decline to State" that should be accepted.  It is important the the registrant or a third party marks this field -- he person doing the voter registration should not fill this in for the registrant.  Also of critical importance is that only one box has any form of mark in it, even a stray dot or a long tail of an "X" could cause the application to be rejected.  To simplify the process, a registrant should mark this field first before filling out the other details so very little effort is lost should a mistake be made.

Section 15 - "Permanent Absentee Voter" is now known as "Vote-By-Mail".  This field is simplified over the previous version of the form and the registrant only needs to put their initials on this line in the new form.  If you are participating in the Democratic Party's bounty program the local club or committee may get a bonus if you get this field.

Section 16 - Anything the registrant can provide regarding where or how they were last registered is important.  At a minimum the registrant should provide the City and State or the registrant's "best guess".  If the registrant's address is unchanged, s/he may write "same".

Section 17 - The registrant must be a U.S. Citizen and be 18 or older by the next election to vote.  Make sure the registrant answers these questions.

Section 18 - The registrant must sign his/her own form and enter the Month, Day and Year.