I demand suffrage!

September 7, 2008 4:43 PM

How can I verify my voter registration in California?

I live in LA and as far as I know should still be registered to vote, as I voted in the primaries last February. But just to be safe I tried out the page on Obama's website where you can check your status and it came up negative. It finds my previous voter registration from Oklahoma (where I voted in the 2004 election), but finds nothing in California. Where would I go to get an official confirmation of my status? Or is Obama's website just flaky and doesn't find everyone?

posted by fishmasta to law & government (7 comments total)

Call your county registrar. FAQ for LA County.

By phone: call the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s Norwalk office at [phone]; (800) 481-VOTE; [phone] (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf, TDD) or one of the following branch offices:
Beverly Hills [phone]
East Los Angeles [phone]
Florence/Firestone [phone]
Lancaster [phone]
LAX Airport [phone]
Van Nuys [phone]
posted by gingerbeer at 4:48 PM on September 7, 2008

When I ran into this problem, I was told to simply register again by the Board of Elections -- checking was apparently too much effort. Several weeks after that, I was able to verify my registration on a site run by my county. Given, this was in Columbus, Ohio, not Los Angeles.
posted by biggity at 4:51 PM on September 7, 2008

Another vote for re-registering. It's much easier.
posted by fshgrl at 5:28 PM on September 7, 2008

Note that if you re-register there's a chance you might end up double registered and have no idea who to contact to get that fixed without being accused of deliberately committing voter fraud.

My double reg was eventually corrected, but it gave me a decent bit of anxiety. If there's any ambiguity about spacing, spelling, or weird characters in your name, make absolutely sure you know how you're giving it to your registrar recorder.
posted by crinklebat at 6:26 PM on September 7, 2008

www.voteforchange.com
Incredible tool, courtesy of the Obama campaign, but it's functionally nonpartisan.
posted by awesomebrad at 8:21 PM on September 7, 2008

well, i just plugged my info into the thingy on the obama site, and it came up with my old address in the bay area from like 5 years ago. but, i have sitting right in front of me an official CA voter registration card with my current address, so it just looks like the information the obama website is using is pretty old. i wouldn't sweat it if you were already allowed to vote in february.
posted by sergeant sandwich at 10:35 PM on September 7, 2008

Obama's got old addresses. I just got an email confirmation from my registrar last week that they have my correct mailing address and current information - which is likely more important considering I'm voting absentee from Canada...

I'd first try contacting (phone would probably be easiest or email) your registrar to confirm your information is correct. They may not, for privacy reasons, confirm the information over the phone or email though. (If you voted in the primaries, you're probably good to go.)
posted by kirstk at 11:39 PM on September 7, 2008