Voter Information

• Voter Registration Information
• How One Vote Makes a Difference
• The 19th Amendment
• The Voting Rights Act
• How am I represented?

Voter Registration
Used with permission from the California Secretary of State website www.ss.ca.gov

Register to Vote!
The registration deadline to vote in an election is usually 15 days prior to the election.

You may register to vote if you meet the following criteria:

• You are a United States citizen
• You are a resident of California
• You are at least 18 years of age (or will be by the date of the next election)
• You are not in prison or on parole for conviction of a felony
• You have not been judged by a court to be mentally incompetent to register and vote

• You move
• You change your name
• You change your political party affiliation

Requirements to Register to Vote in California

To be eligible to register to vote in California you must:

• be a United States Citizen;
• be 18 years of age on or before the day of the election;
• be a resident of the State of California; and
• not be in prison or on parole for the conviction of a felony.

How to Register to Vote
To register to vote you must obtain and complete a voter registration form. Voter registration forms can be obtained by:

• calling your local county elections official and requesting a form
• using the online voter registration form available on the Secretary of State's website
• calling the toll-free voter registration hotline at 1-800-345-VOTE and requesting a form
• downloading a voter registration form from the Secretary of State's website

How a Vote Makes a Difference: Voting Does Matter

Prior to the 2000 Presidential election Americans felt that their vote didnít count and after the election more American began to feel the same way. Could you imagine if Americans decided not to vote? We would not have a president or any other elected official! Do you complain about decisions made by local school boards, city councils, or any elected official? If yes, you need to ask yourself ìDid I vote?" Making any type of change must begin at the grass roots level regardless of where you live and it starts by electing people who will implement change. When you do have complaints voting for elected officials will allow you to share your complaints with key representatives. Keep in mind elected officials work for you, if you voted that is!

Does One Vote Really Matter?
Consider the following while you are deciding if you have time to vote or if you think the system is too far gone for your vote to matter.

• An average of only one voter per precinct passed womenís suffrage in California in 1911.
• One vote made Tennessee the 36th state to ratify the 19th Amendment which gave women the right to vote in 1920.
• One vote gave Adolf Hitler the Leadership of the Nazi Party in 1923.
• One vote elected Thomas Jefferson president in 1800.
• A change of one vote per precinct in three states would have made Hubert Humphrey President in 1968 instead of Richard Nixon.
• One vote gave America English instead of German as the official language in 1776.
• One vote gave Texas statehood in 1845.
• One vote changed France from a monarchy to a Republic in 1875.

19th Amendment
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

The following was provided by the Center for Voting and Democracy:

The Voting Rights Act
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a significant piece of legislation that guarantees the right to vote to African American citizens. This legislative act prevented states (mainly southern) from enforcing discriminatory tactics aimed at preventing African Americans fair opportunities to participate in the voting process. As a result of the Act, the national government intervened in areas where African Americans were denied the right to vote.

Specifically, section 2 and section 5 of the Voting Rights Act are of particular importance. Section 2 prohibits minority vote dilution which is basically tactics, legislation, situations, etc. that weaken the voting strength of minorities. Section 2 prevents municipalities from enacting practices designed to give minorities an unfair chance to elect candidates of their choice and is enforceable nationwide.

Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act requires certain areas of the country to obtain “preclearance” from the US Attorney General or the US District Court for the District of Columbia for any changes with reference to voting. These areas are known as “covered jurisdictions.” Thus, any “covered jurisdiction” must be given approval before any new electoral practices can be administered. This is necessary due to the purpose or intent of some areas to dilute, or weaken the strength of minority voters by changing electoral practices that give minorities an unfair chance to elect someone of choice. For example, a change from district/ward elections to an at-large election could be the intent of the governing body to make it difficult for minorities to get elected. This also includes, but is not limited to: a change to or from a proportional electoral system, change in the number of candidates to be elected, change in redistricting plan, etc. Additionally, Section 5 considers the effect of a proposed change. Will the proposed change lead to “retrogression,” a worsening of the position of minority voters? For instance, a proposed plan may effectively decrease the number of minority elected officials as well as decrease the voting strength of the minority group. All areas in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia and parts of California, Florida, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, and South Dakota are subject to section 5 preclearance.

In 1975 the act was amended to include rights for language minorities. These amendments mandated bilingual ballots and oral assistance to those who spoke Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Native American languages, and Eskimo languages. In 1982 the Act was also amended to clear statutory language surrounding the purpose and intent prong of Section 2. The amendment provides that proof of discriminatory purpose or intent was not required under a Section 2 claim.

HOW AM I REPRESENTED?

FEDERAL
California, like every U.S. State, is represented in the U.S. Senate in Washington D.C. by 2 U.S. Senators.

California is represented in the U.S. House of Representatives in
Washington D.C. by 53 Congressmen & women. Each State is awarded a specific number of representatives based on population.

STATE
There are 80 members of the California State Assembly representing Californians from across the State in Sacramento. State Assembly districts are established according to population.

There are 40 State Senators in the California State Senate representing Californians from across the State in Sacramento. State Senate districts are established according to population.