Your Last-minute Voter Guide To California's 2026 Primary Election

With conscionable days near to formed your ballot successful California’s superior predetermination connected June 2, The Times has answers to your last-minute questions astir nan voting process.

Here’s what you request to know:

What are nan cardinal races to watch?

1. The California governor’s title is simply a tight conflict betwixt Democrats and Republicans who are vying to switch Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is serving his 2nd word and cannot tally again. Top candidates see a Riverside County Sheriff, a erstwhile elder advisor to British Prime Minister David Cameron, a erstwhile Los Angeles mayor, a billionaire hedge money laminitis and a personnel of nan U.S. House of Representatives. Your guideline to nan title for California politician tin beryllium recovered here.
2. In nan Los Angeles metropolis mayoral race, incumbent Karen Bass faces a reelection situation from a section of candidates that see a reality TV personality, a tech entrepreneur, a City Council personnel and a progressive organization leader. Your guideline to nan L.A. mayor’s title tin beryllium recovered here.

What is connected nan ballot?

There are respective races, ballot measures, section territory seats and statewide races that Southern Californians must determine on.

Most of nan attraction will beryllium connected nan races for California politician and nan politician of Los Angeles.

City of Los Angeles residents person respective different items to consider, including:

• Seven City Council territory seats.
• The Los Angeles city attorney and controller seats.
• Three taxation measures connected hotel beds, hotel bookings by online companies and illegal cannabis businesses.
• Three territory seats connected nan Los Angeles Unified School Board.

County of Los Angeles residents will beryllium asked to ballot on:

• A healthcare income tax
• The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s race
• The Los Angeles County assessor‘s race
• Two Los Angeles County District Board of Supervisors races for nan 1st and 3rd district
• Fifteen Los Angeles County Superior Court judge seats

Voters will determine connected six section legislature territory seats and different statewide races including the:

• Attorney general
• State treasurer
• Secretary of state
• State controller
• Lieutenant governor
• Insurance commissioner
• State schools superintendent

A broad breakdown of each title aliases projected taxation measurement tin beryllium recovered here.

What is an unfastened primary?

An unfastened superior allows nan apical 2 candidates who garner nan astir votes to move connected to nan wide predetermination successful November, nary matter what statement they beryllium to.

This strategy could let 2 candidates from nan aforesaid statement to beforehand to nan wide election.

Is it excessively precocious to ballot by mail?

No. You tin return your vote-by-mail ballot by:

1. Dropping it disconnected successful nan return letter cover astatine a unafraid charismatic driblet container now done nan adjacent of polls connected June 2.
2. Dropping it disconnected successful personification astatine a polling place, ballot halfway aliases region elections agency by 8 p.m. connected June 2.
3. Dropping it disconnected astatine nan station office. Mailed ballots must beryllium postmarked connected aliases earlier predetermination time and received nary later than 7 days aft predetermination day. To guarantee your ballot is postmarked by predetermination day, message it astatine slightest 5 days earlier June 2. If mailing connected predetermination day, get a hand-stamped postmark from a postal worker astatine a United States Post Office.

What is nan deadline to return a vote-by-mail ballot?

In bid to beryllium counted, vote-by-mail ballots must beryllium postmarked connected aliases earlier predetermination day, June 2, and received by your region elections agency by June 9.

How do I cheque if I’m registered to vote?

To find retired if you’re registered to vote, sojourn nan caput of state’s website. You’ll request to participate a California driver’s licence aliases recognition number aliases nan past 4 digits of your Social Security number.

You besides tin telephone nan state’s elector hotline (available successful 10 languages) astatine (800) 345-8683 to get a insubstantial exertion mailed to you, aliases you tin prime up 1 astatine a county predetermination office, astir California libraries and United States Post Office locations, arsenic good arsenic galore federal, authorities and section authorities offices — including nan Department of Motor Vehicles.

If you opted to registry online, officials opportunity you should hold astatine slightest 24 hours earlier checking your elector status.

How do I registry to vote? Can I registry connected predetermination day?

The deadline to registry to ballot was May 18.

If you’ve grounded to meet nan deadline, you tin registry arsenic a conditional elector done nan same-day elector registration process.

Eligible citizens who request to registry aliases reregister to ballot wrong 14 days of an predetermination tin complete this process to registry and ballot astatine region elections offices, polling places aliases ballot centers.

To find an early voting location, usage nan caput of authorities hunt instrumentality here. You tin find your section polling places here.

Your submitted ballot will beryllium processed and counted erstwhile nan region elections agency has completed nan elector registration verification process.

How do I cheque my elector status?

You tin cheque your elector position from nan California caput of authorities website here. To find your record, you’ll request to supply your afloat name, day of birth, authorities driver’s licence aliases recognition paper number and nan past 4 digits of your Social Security number.

Where is my closest driblet box?

Secure ballot drop-off locations opened May 5. You tin sojourn nan Los Angeles County Office of nan Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s website here to find a ballot container adjacent you.

How do I way my ballot?

Once formed your ballot, you tin way it here.

Staff writers Seema Mehta, Phil Willon and David Zahnister contributed to this report.