VOTING FOR PRESIDENT IN THE PRIMARY? MAKE SURE YOU CAN

County News Service

March 3, 2016 (San Diego) -- If you are registered as a No Party Preference (or nonpartisan voter) and get your ballot by mail, the Registrar of Voters wants you to know presidential candidates will not be listed on your ballot. If you’d like to vote for a presidential candidate in the June primary, you must take action and request a party ballot.

“Don’t be caught by surprise,” said County Registrar of Voters Michael Vu. “Make sure you get the mail ballot you need to vote for your presidential candidate.”  

The Registrar’s office is sending out more than 300,000 postcards to nonpartisan vote-by-mail voters this week to let them know they have choices including requesting a ballot for one of three political parties: American Independent, Democratic or Libertarian. 

Those parties are allowing nonpartisan voters to take part in their elections.

Selecting one of these political party ballots will not permanently change your party registration but will allow you to vote for the presidential candidate of any one of the above parties for the June 7, 2016 Presidential Primary Election.

Choose which of the party ballots you’d like to receive for the primary on the postage paid postcard and return it by April 13.

The Green, Peace and Freedom and Republican parties allow only registered members of their parties to take part in their presidential primary elections.  If you want to vote for the presidential candidate of one of these political parties, you should check your party preference at sdvote.com.  If it is different, you will need to re-register with that party before May 23.

You can re-register to vote online. If your signature is confirmed through Department of Motor Vehicles records, it will automatically be sent to the Registrar of Voters office. If the signature is not confirmed, print the form, sign it and mail it to the Registrar or you can drop it off in person at the Registrar’s office in Kearny Mesa. By state law, the Registrar must have your original signature.

For additional information, call (858) 565-5800 or visit sdvote.com.