Comments on: I demand suffrage!

Question: I demand suffrage!

fishmasta — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 16:43:01 -0800

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?

By: gingerbeer

gingerbeer — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 16:48:13 -0800

Call your county registrar. FAQ for LA County.

By phone: call the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's Norwalk office at (562) 466-1310; (800) 481-VOTE; (562) 462-2259 (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf, TDD) or one of the following branch offices:
Beverly Hills (310) 288-1261
East Los Angeles (323) 260-2991
Florence/Firestone (323) 586-6192
Lancaster (661) 945-6446
LAX Airport (310) 727-6142
Van Nuys (818) 374-7176

By: biggity

biggity — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 16:51:11 -0800

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.

By: fshgrl

fshgrl — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 17:28:20 -0800

Another vote for re-registering. It's much easier.

By: crinklebat

crinklebat — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 18:26:26 -0800

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.

By: awesomebrad

awesomebrad — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 20:21:28 -0800

www.voteforchange.com
Incredible tool, courtesy of the Obama campaign, but it's functionally nonpartisan.

By: sergeant sandwich

sergeant sandwich — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 22:35:44 -0800

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.

By: kirstk

kirstk — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 23:39:50 -0800

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.)