Registrar of Voters
The Alameda County Registrar of Voters handles voter registration, election administration, ballots, and voting assistance for county residents. This article explains how to reach the correct office, review your registration, prepare an application, choose a voting method, and request accessibility or language assistance. It also covers military and overseas voting, candidate filing, and the differences between the county’s election systems so you can use the right service for your task.
What the Registrar of Voters Handles
The Registrar of Voters registers voters and conducts federal, state, county, special, and local elections. Its responsibilities include preparing election notices, reviewing candidate nomination petitions, producing Voter Information Guides and official ballots, arranging voting locations, and providing election workers with the materials they need. The office also establishes and revises voting precincts, tabulates election returns, and conducts the official canvass of votes cast.
Other duties include checking signatures on initiative, referendum, and recall petitions and providing voter registration outreach. For residents, the office is the county contact for questions about registration, vote-by-mail ballots, voting locations, and election participation. Candidates also work with the Registrar through its Candidate Services staff.
The official Alameda County election website brings these services together. Its election announcements, registration tools, voting information, maps, and contact options serve different purposes. A registration application establishes or updates your voter registration; a voter profile lets you review your existing county registration; and a voting-location tool helps you decide where to vote or return a ballot.
Office Location and Early Voting
The Registrar of Voters’ office is in Room G-1 of the Rene C. Davidson Courthouse in Oakland. Use the room designation when planning an office visit or addressing registration paperwork. The office’s address and telephone numbers appear in the department list at the end of this article.
Beginning 29 days before an election, the Registrar’s office serves as a Vote Center during regular hours, Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. On Election Day, its voting hours are 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. There may also be weekend voting hours for primary and general elections; contact the office for the applicable schedule before arranging a weekend visit.
The office is two blocks from the Lake Merritt BART station. The county’s candidate filing information also identifies parking lots within a three-block radius and metered street parking nearby. Candidate appointments, early voting, and visits to other Vote Centers have different scheduling considerations, so confirm the schedule for the service you intend to use.
Voter Registration Eligibility and Preparation
The county’s voter registration instructions explain eligibility, online and paper applications, registration changes, and conditional registration. Review these instructions before submitting an application, particularly if you participate in an address confidentiality program or need military or overseas voting services.
Who Can Register or Pre-Register?
To register to vote in California, you must meet all of the following qualifications:
Be a United States citizen and a California resident.
Be at least 18 years old on Election Day.
Not currently be serving a state or federal prison term for a felony conviction.
Not currently have been found mentally incompetent to vote by a court.
People who are 16 or 17 may pre-register if they meet the other eligibility requirements. A person who pre-registers will automatically become registered to vote on their 18th birthday. Pre-registration is a separate option for younger eligible residents; it does not allow them to vote before they meet the voting age requirement.
Information for an Online Application
The county identifies three items needed for online registration: your California driver license or California identification card number, the last four digits of your Social Security number, and your date of birth. Have these available before opening the application so you can enter the requested information without interrupting the process.
The online application is available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Tagalog, Thai, and Vietnamese. These application languages differ from the languages used for the county’s official ballots and from the additional languages available through facsimile ballot assistance.
Paper Applications and Mailing Requests
You can obtain a paper voter registration application at the Registrar’s office. Applications are also available at public libraries, Department of Motor Vehicles offices, and U.S. post offices. The county provides a telephone option for requesting that a paper application be mailed to you.
Complete the application in full. For the regular registration deadline, a paper application must be postmarked or hand-delivered to your county elections office at least 15 days before the election. Picking up a blank form is only the first step; the completed application must be submitted within the applicable registration period.
Confidential Address Program Participants
People enrolled in Safe at Home or another confidential address program should not use the standard online form to register or re-register. The county directs Safe at Home participants to contact that program instead. If disclosure of your address could put you in life-threatening danger, the county states that you may be eligible for confidential voter registration. The Safe at Home program can be reached at (877) 322-5227.
Registration Status and Personal Changes
To determine whether you are currently registered within Alameda County, use My Voter Profile. The login form requests your date of birth, California driver license or identification card information, and the last four digits of your Social Security number. Prepare the requested identifiers before accessing the system.
My Voter Profile is a county registration tool, not the application for creating a new registration. The county’s registration page separately directs people checking registration in another California county to the state registration-status service. Choose the system that matches the county where you are checking your registration.
You need to re-register when you change your name, address, or political party choice. Reviewing an existing profile and submitting a registration change are different tasks. If you have moved or changed your name, follow the re-registration instructions rather than assuming that viewing your profile updates the record.
Cancellation Requests Are Separate Forms
The registration page provides distinct instructions for canceling voter registration and canceling Permanent Vote by Mail status. To cancel your registration, complete the California Voter Registration Cancellation Request Form and submit it to the Registrar of Voters. To cancel Permanent Vote by Mail status, use the separate Request to Cancel Permanent Vote by Mail Status Form and submit it to the same office.
Select the form that matches your intended change. A request to cancel voter registration and a request to cancel Permanent Vote by Mail status address different records. The county’s registration page identifies both forms as California Secretary of State forms.
Election Dates and Registration Deadlines
The county identifies Tuesday, November 3, 2026, as the General Election date. Its election announcements identify October 19, 2026, as the close of the registration period, October 8 as the start of vote-by-mail processing, and October 22 as the date for public logic and accuracy testing. Vote-by-mail processing and voter registration are separate activities; the processing start date is not the registration deadline.
The regular voter registration deadline is 15 days before an election. Local elections may occur on dates that differ from statewide elections, so use the date of the specific election when reviewing its registration calendar. Do not carry a deadline from one election into another.
For elections conducted by the county elections official, conditional voter registration allows you to register and vote at the county elections office after the 15-day registration deadline. The county’s registration instructions direct voters to the Secretary of State’s conditional registration information for further details.
Registration timing can also affect mailed election materials. The county advises that people registering after the 29th day before an election may not receive a sample ballot because of the short mailing turnaround. Its registration page states that those voters should still receive a mailed notice identifying their polling place.
Ballot Return and In-Person Voting
The county’s voting methods page identifies ballot drop boxes and in-person voting at Vote Centers. An eligible voter can visit any Vote Center. When planning an in-person visit, review the location’s election-specific dates and hours rather than treating every location as having the same operating schedule.
Ballot Drop Boxes and Envelope Signatures
Alameda County provides 24-hour ballot drop boxes, which remain open until 8:00 p.m. on Election Day. The county specifically reminds voters to sign the back of the return envelope. Before depositing your ballot, make sure you have completed that signature step.
The official ballot drop box map identifies sites throughout the county. Use the location information to choose a convenient return point. A drop box site provides a place to deposit a ballot; do not assume that its presence means the building also operates as an in-person Vote Center.
Election-Specific Vote Center Schedules
The county’s Vote Center listing includes an election selector, a voting-days selector, city groupings, addresses, and the number of voting days available at each site. Confirm the selected election before relying on the displayed locations or hours.
The supplied Vote Center listing displays the June 7, 2022, Direct Primary Election and its four-day and eleven-day schedules. Those dates and hours belong to that election. For a later election, use the county’s corresponding election information and location selection. The listing also states that location information can change after posting and will be updated before the election.
Ranked-Choice Ballot Contests
The county describes ranked-choice voting, also called instant runoff voting, as allowing voters to rank a first, second, third, fourth, and fifth candidate choice for a single office. Review the instructions for the particular contest on your ballot. The ranking format concerns choices within that office and should not be confused with the procedures for returning the ballot.
Accessible Ballots and Voting Assistance
The Registrar’s information for voters with disabilities explains services intended to support independent and private voting. Options include Remote Accessible Vote by Mail, accessible voting machines and booths, magnifying devices, assistance marking a ballot, and curbside voting.
Remote Accessible Vote by Mail
Remote Accessible Vote by Mail allows all voters to access their ballot using a computer with internet access. Voters may use assistive devices to read and mark the ballot outside a polling place, then print and return it to the Registrar’s office. For this general service, official ballots become available through My Voter Profile beginning 29 days before each election.
This system is a ballot delivery and marking option. Its instructions include printing and returning the ballot, so accessing or marking it on a computer does not finish the return process. Military and overseas voters have separate instructions, including an earlier access period described below.
Assistance at Vote Centers
Accessible touchscreen voting machines allow voters to make selections and review them on a paper record before casting a vote. The machines offer enlarged text and an audio ballot feature in English, Chinese, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.
Every Vote Center has designated accessible voting booths for voters who use wheelchairs. Magnifying devices are also available for people who have difficulty reading their ballot. A voter who needs help marking a ballot can request assistance from an election worker or select a person to assist with reading the ballot or marking the voter’s choices.
If age or physical disability prevents you from entering a Vote Center, curbside voting allows you to vote in your vehicle or near the center. Contact the Registrar for more information about this service.
Guides and Medical Emergency Assistance
The Voter Information Guide is mailed to registered voters approximately five weeks before each election. It contains a sample ballot and may include candidate and measure information. The Registrar also provides the guide in an accessible format through the Voter Profile page and accepts telephone requests for accessible guide formats.
ACVOTE On The Go coordinates with facilities and administration offices to send a team that assists with receiving, marking, and returning ballots. The program serves hospitalized voters, voters with disabilities, and voters confined to their homes because of a medical emergency. Contact the Registrar to sign up for the program.
Language Assistance and Reference Ballots
The Registrar prepares official ballots and Voter Information Guides in English, Chinese, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. Its language assistance information also describes facsimile ballots in Burmese, Khmer, Korean, Hindi, Laotian, Mien, Mongolian, Punjabi, and Telugu for voters residing in precincts where the language is provided.
A facsimile ballot is a copy of the official ballot used as a reference. It serves a different purpose from the official ballot you cast. Facsimile ballots are available at the Registrar’s office and all Vote Centers, and voters can request delivery by mail or email through the office.
Voters who cannot mark a ballot may bring up to two people to assist them. Those assistants cannot be the voter’s employer or union representative. When arranging assistance, keep this restriction in mind before choosing who will accompany you.
Military and Overseas Voting Procedures
The county’s military and overseas voter instructions cover registration, ballot requests, delivery options, and return requirements for Californians serving in the military or living outside the United States. These procedures should be reviewed separately from the general voting instructions because they include specific delivery methods and deadlines.
Registration and Ballot Requests
Even if you are or were registered in your county, the county directs voters absent while serving or living overseas to request a vote-by-mail ballot through the online voter registration application or the Federal Post Card Application, known as the FPCA. On either application, you can choose to receive your ballot and the accompanying Military or Overseas Voter Return Envelope by mail or email.
Members of the military can obtain an FPCA from their installation’s Voting Assistance Officer. Civilian overseas voters can obtain one at a U.S. embassy or consulate. A completed FPCA can be mailed or faxed to the county elections official. If you are already registered and use the FPCA only to request a vote-by-mail ballot, you can email the completed and signed application.
Alameda County provides Remote Accessible Vote by Mail for all overseas voters. The military and overseas instructions state that these voters can access their ballot through My Voter Profile 45 days before an election.
Return Deadlines and Fax Restrictions
A mailed military or overseas ballot and signed return envelope must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received by the county elections office no later than seven days after Election Day.
Fax return is allowed under the circumstances described by the county: the voter is outside the territorial limits of the United States, or is called for military service within the United States on or after the final date to apply for a vote-by-mail ballot. A faxed ballot must reach the county elections office by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day.
Faxing also requires the signed Military or Overseas Voter Return Envelope and an Oath of Voter form waiving the right to a confidential vote. Use the oath supplied by the county, and check with the county before using the alternative federal form. Although a blank ballot may be received by email, a voted ballot cannot be returned by email. Emailing an eligible FPCA request and returning a voted ballot are separate procedures.
Candidate Filing and Registration Drives
Candidate Papers and Appointments
The Registrar’s candidate filing instructions describe a multi-step process that may require more than one appointment. The published nomination period for the November 3, 2026, General Election ran from July 13 through August 7, 2026. Those dates apply to that nomination period.
Candidates or authorized representatives must verify voter registration when picking up nomination papers. If someone else will retrieve or file your paperwork, complete and sign the Candidate Authorization Form and have the representative bring it when retrieving documents.
Before an initial appointment, review the qualifications and prepare your campaign email, ballot designation, campaign finance planning, and campaign website information. Filing materials may include nomination petitions, a ballot designation worksheet, a declaration of candidacy, candidate statement paperwork, and other forms identified by the office. Appointments are strongly recommended; walk-ins are welcome, but waits may be long.
Registration Cards for Community Drives
Anyone distributing voter registration cards in California should review the rules for registration drives. The Registrar provides registration classes, and a person seeking more than 50 registration cards must first attend a class. Plan for that requirement before organizing a drive that needs a larger supply of cards.
Election Questions and Public Observation
The Registrar’s contact request form provides an online way to submit questions or requests. Prepare your name, street address, city, state, ZIP code, email address and confirmation, and phone number. The form also contains category and request-description fields, along with election, location, language, and website fields. Follow the required fields shown for your request; the description field displays a limit of 1,800 characters.
Describe the specific task or issue and identify the election when relevant. Registration questions, accessibility requests, candidate filing matters, and website feedback concern different services, so choosing an appropriate category helps clarify what assistance you need.
The Registrar welcomes public observation of election operations through live streams or in-person observation at its office. The official election homepage provides observation information, registration statistics, vote-by-mail statistics, district maps, and a California Public Records Act request option. Registration and ballot statistics describe election activity; they serve a different purpose from the personal registration information available through My Voter Profile.
Registrar of Voters Office Contacts
Alameda County Registrar of Voters
1225 Fallon Street, Room G-1, Oakland, CA 94612
(510) 272-6973
(800) 834-6454
(510) 272-6933
TDD: (510) 208-4967
Candidate Services
(510) 272-6960
Registrar of Voters FAQs
Can voter registration information be used for marketing?
No. The county’s voter registration guidance states that the law prohibits using voter registration information for commercial purposes. If you believe your registration information has been used commercially, the county directs voters to report the problem to the California Secretary of State. Keep the mailing, message, or other material that prompted your concern so you can explain what happened. This restriction concerns how registration information is used; it should not be interpreted as a promise that every voter registration record is confidential.
Where can I find Alameda County election results?
The county’s voter accessibility page includes an “Election Day Results” section with a link to results for current elections. Follow that results link when you want vote totals. Registration statistics and vote-by-mail statistics answer different questions, such as how many voters are registered or how many ballots have been issued and returned. Those figures do not show which candidate or measure is leading. Check the election identified on the results page before using its totals.
How can voters help improve voting accessibility?
The Registrar’s staff meets quarterly with the Voting Accessibility Advisory Committee to discuss improvements that help people vote independently and privately. The county states that interested members of the public may attend these meetings. Its accessibility page provides committee information and meeting announcements. Before planning to participate, review the posted details for the particular meeting. For a useful discussion, describe the specific barrier you experienced, the voting task it affected, and the change that would help you complete that task independently.