Secretary of State Alex Padilla released the latest statewide Report of Registration ahead of the March 3 presidential primary. As of Jan. 3, there were 20,428,270 registered voters in California, an increase of 3,159,437 registered voters since the last Report of Registration at a similar point in a presidential election cycle (April 8, 2016).
Nearly 81% of eligible Californians are registered to vote. This is the highest percentage of eligible citizens registered to vote heading into a California presidential primary in the past 68 years.
“California entered 2020 with a record 20.4 million registered voters, and I only expect that figure to climb as we reach the presidential primary in March and general election in November,” Padilla said. “I’m encouraging all Californians to verify their voter registration status by visiting voterstatus.sos.ca.gov. If you need to register for the first time or update your registration – including political party – you can do so at registertovote.ca.gov. These steps only take minutes to make sure you are registered and ready to vote.”
Padilla also issued a new report showing more than 500,000 California 16- and 17-year-olds have now taken advantage of voter pre-registration since the program launched in fall 2016. Teens who pre-register to vote have their registration automatically activated when they turn 18. As of Feb. 3, there were 156,022 pre-registered 16- and 17-year-olds.
“Whenever I talk to high school students, it is clear that they care about their communities and democracy,” Padilla said. “Pre-registration provides a platform for young people to begin entering the electoral process before they reach 18. I am so proud that pre-registration has now helped over a half million California teens take their first steps into the democratic process. I am challenging California teens, school administrators and parents to help us add another 100,000 pre-registrations by the November 2020 general election.”
Eligible 16- and 17-year-olds can pre-register to vote online at registertovote.ca.gov.
For information, visit highschool.sos.ca.gov.
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