California Presidential Primary Election

March 5, 2024
(33rd edition)

About This Election

• Certified election results

What's on the ballot:  

• Presidential candidates seeking their political party's nomination

• The office of U.S. Senate will have TWO separate contests on the ballot. You may vote on both. The first contest is the regular election for the full 6-year term of office beginning 1/3/25. The second contest is a "special vacancy election" for the remainder of the term ending on 1/3/25. 

• U.S. House of Representatives, State Assembly and odd-numbered State Senate districts

• Proposition 1, a statewide bond measure

• Local contests for county, municipal and special district offices, judges and local measures 

2024 IN-PERSON VOTING OPTIONS
BY COUNTY

Your voting choices:

• In California state and federal elections, under California's "Top Two" open primary law, all registered voters can vote in the primary for any candidate of any party regardless of voters' or candidates' party affiliations. However, in a Presidential Primary election, voters registered with a political party can only choose among candidates for president who are registered with the same party (the same is true for party central committee elections). In this election, Independent, "No Party Preference" voters have have the option of voting in the Presidential primaries of the Democratic, Libertarian and American Independent parties; voters wishing to vote differently than their party registration allows must re-register to vote and update their party affiliation. Learn more from the Secretary of State. 
   
• California local elections are nonpartisan; like state and federal contests, the top two vote-getters proceed to the General Election ballot, unless one candidate receives more than 50% of the Primary election vote, in which case that candidate won outright in the Primary, and the contest is over and does not appear on the General Election ballot.
   
• All federal, state and local political district lines were redrawn after the 2020 Census to ensure Californians are equally represented. Visit CalMatters to look up your new state and federal districts.

Important Dates

• February 5:   Counties must begin mailing vote-by-mail ballots to all registered voters; first day of early voting
• February 20:  Last day to register to vote 
• February 21 - March 5:  Conditional, "same day" voter registration available at all voting sites and county election offices
• February 24:  11-day vote centers open in Voter's Choice Act counties
• March 2:  4-day vote centers open in Voter's Choice Act counties
• March 5:  Election Day - polling places and vote centers are open statewide 7am - 8pm

Resources

From the California Voter Foundation:

• Voting FAQ

• Contact Your County Election Office

• Online Voter Tools - Check Your Voting Status

• Peace at the Polls CA 

• Vote-by-Mail tips:

From the California Secretary of State:

• Primary Election Home Page
• Official California Voter Information Guide
• Certified List of Candidates 
• Where's My Ballot? Vote-by-mail ballot tracking service
• About the Voter's Choice Act
• Trusted Election Information
• See what voting equipment your county uses
• Election Observation Rights and Responsibilities
• Official Primary Election Calendar
• About Remote Accessible Vote-by-Mail voting
• Early voting and drop-off locations 
• Report election mis- and disinformation to the Office of Election Cybersecurity
• Cal-Access and PowerSearch -  official campaign finance disclosure web site for the State of California 
• Guidance for Military and Overseas Voters 

From the California Attorney General:

• Protecting California Voters on Election Day and During Early Voting
• Access to Voting for Eligible Persons Under the Supervision of Probation Departments
• Access to Voting for Eligible Person With a Criminal History or Who are Incarcerated

CVF recommends these additional nonpartisan voter resources:

• CalMatter's 2024 Voter Guide
• League of Women Voters of California's 411vote.org personalized ballot tool
• Ballotpedia's Sample Ballot Lookup Tool
• KQED's California Voter Guide
• CapRadio's Sacramento Voter Guide
• Top Ten Proposition Donors and total amount raised from the Fair Political Practices Commission
• Find your new political districts from CalMatters 
• Easy Voter Guide from the League of Women Voters (available in multiple languages)
• Disability Rights California's hotline for voters with disabilities:  1-888-569-7955
• Election Protection Hotline: 866-OUR-VOTE
• Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot and Backup Ballot from the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP)
• Make sure your Vote-by-Mail ballot is counted - fact sheet from Asians Americans Advancing Justice-Los Angeles
• About the California Voter's Choice Act - a new voting model implemented in 29 counties
• Verified Voting's Verifier: California voting systems

Archived editions of CVF's California Online Voter Guide:

• November 2022 Statewide General Election
• June 2022 Statewide Primary Election
• September 2021 Statewide Recall Election
• November 2020 Presidential General Election
• March 2020 Presidential Primary Election 
• November 2018 General Election
• 1994 - Primary 2018, plus other archived election resources are accessible via CVF's Archived Elections page