Frequently Asked Questions About Voter Registration Records

Voter records are considered Active when the voter’s registration record has been checked and verified against the State’s database.

Voters with active records are mailed Voter Information Guides and mail ballots for every election in which they are eligible to vote.

Active voter records become Inactive when information is received from the U.S. Postal Service indicating a voter has moved and left no forwarding address or the forwarding address is out-of-state.

Once a voter record becomes Inactive, the voter is no longer mailed Voter Information Guides or ballots. Instead, a series of notices are mailed to Inactive voters in an attempt to update their voter registration, Inactive voters that do not confirm or respond to any of these notices will be cancelled if they fail to vote in the succeeding two federal general elections.

A Voter record is categorized as pending when incomplete information is provided upon registration. The Registrar of Voters will make an effort to contact pending voters by mail or phone to obtain missing information. Once the information is provided, the voter record will be moved to active status, and the voter will be eligible to vote.

A voter record may be in pending status if the residential address provided corresponds to a newly constructed residence. In such instances, the voter may need to furnish additional information, such as cross streets or other relevant details, to enable the Registrar of Voters to update address files accordingly.

Additionally, a voter record will be pending when an individual pre-registers to vote at 16 or 17 years of age. The voter registration will transition to active status once the registrant turns 18 or will be 18 on or before the next election date in which they are entitled to vote.

The Voter Registration Dashboard is a data visualization tool. It tracks voter registration activity using the County’s election management system and highlights five key metrics:

  • Total Voter Registration
  • New Voter Registrations
  • Voter Address Updates
  • Inactive Voters
  • Voter Cancellations

The Dashboard also includes filtering options for political parties and districts.

Explore the Voter Registration Dashboard (available soon).

The Voter Registration Dashboard is updated daily to reflect the most current data, unless otherwise noted. Voter data collection began in April of 2025.

Explore the Voter Registration Dashboard (available soon).

Yes. The data can be filtered by:

  • Political party
  • District

Explore the Voter Registration Dashboard (available soon).

The Voter Registration Dashboard indicates the source of each new voter registration, including:

  • DMV: Citizens using the California Department of Motor Vehicles services in person or online may be automatically registered to vote.
  • NCOA: When voters inform the United States Postal Service (USPS) of a change of address, that information is used to update the voter’s registration to the new county of residence.
  • Online: Voter registrations submitted using the Secretary of State’s online voter registration website.
  • Paper: Voter registration cards received in person or by mail.
  • Other: Voter registration records sent to the Registrar by other means including records sent electronically from other counties.

Explore the Voter Registration Dashboard (available soon).

The Voter Registration Dashboard tracks two types of voter address updates:

  • Residential addresses
  • Mailing addresses

Residential and mailing address changes can be made directly by the voter or indirectly through the California DMV or the U.S. Postal Service. All address changes are followed up with a postcard to the voter confirming the address change.

Explore the Voter Registration Dashboard (available soon).

Cancelled voter records are categorized as:

  • Moved out of county
  • Ineligible: includes records cancelled due to:
    • Imprisonment for a felony,
    • A court ruling of mental incompetence, or
    • An inactive voter who does not do any of the following:
      • Respond to an address confirmation notice
      • provide updated voter registration information
      • vote in two federal general elections
  • Deceased
  • Cancelled per request: Includes all requests from voters to have their own voter registration record cancelled

Explore the Voter Registration Dashboard (available soon).

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