2026 California voter guide: vote-by-mail, registration, track my ballot

With just days left to cast your vote in California's primary election on June 2, The Times has answers to your last-minute questions about the voting process. Here's what you need to know: The California governor's race is a tight battle between Democrats and Republicans who are vying to replace Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is serving his second term and cannot run again. Top candidates include a Riverside County Sheriff, a former senior advisor to British Prime Minister David Cameron, a former Los Angeles mayor, a billionaire hedge fund founder and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Your guide to the race for California governor can be found here. In the Los Angeles city mayoral race, incumbent Karen Bass faces a reelection challenge from a field of candidates that include a reality TV personality, a tech entrepreneur, a City Council member and a progressive community leader. Your guide to the L.A. mayor's race can be found here. There are several races, ballot measures, local district seats and statewide races that Southern Californians must decide on. Most of the attention will be on the races for California governor and the mayor of Los Angeles. City of Los Angeles residents have several other items to consider, including: Seven City Council district seats. The Los Angeles city attorney and controller seats. Three tax measures on hotel beds, hotel bookings by online companies and illegal cannabis businesses. Three district seats on the Los Angeles Unified School Board. County of Los Angeles residents will be asked to vote on: A healthcare sales tax The Los Angeles County Sheriff's raceThe Los Angeles County assessor's raceTwo Los Angeles County District Board of Supervisors races for the 1st and 3rd districtFifteen Los Angeles County Superior Court judge seats Voters will decide on six local congressional district seats and other statewide races including the: Attorney general State treasurer Secretary of state State controller Lieutenant governor Insurance commissioner State schools superintendent A comprehensive breakdown of each race or proposed tax measure can be found here. An open primary allows the top two candidates who garner the most votes to move on to the general election in November, no matter what party they belong to. This system could allow two candidates from the same party to advance to the general election. No. You can return your vote-by-mail ballot by: Dropping it off in the return envelope at a secure official drop box now through the close of polls on June 2. Dropping it off in person at a polling place, vote center or county elections office by 8 p.m. on June 2. Dropping it off at the post office. Mailed ballots must be postmarked on or before election day and received no later than 7 days after election day. To ensure your ballot is postmarked by election day, mail it at least five days before June 2. If mailing on election day, get a hand-stamped postmark from a postal employee at a United States Post Office.In order to be counted, vote-by-mail ballots must be postmarked on or before election day, June 2, and received by your county elections office by June 9. To find out if you're registered to vote, visit the secretary of state’s website. You’ll need to enter a California driver’s license or identification number or the last four digits of your Social Security number. You also can call the state’s voter hotline (available in 10 languages) at (800) 345-8683 to get a paper application mailed to you, or you can pick up one at a county election office, most California libraries and United States Post Office locations, as well as many federal, state and local government offices — including the Department of Motor Vehicles. If you opted to register online, officials say you should wait at least 24 hours before checking your voter status. The deadline to register to vote was May 18. If you've failed to meet the deadline, you can register as a conditional voter through the same-day voter registration process. Eligible citizens who need to register or reregister to vote within 14 days of an election can complete this process to register and vote at county elections offices, polling places or vote centers. To find an early voting location, use the secretary of state search tool here. You can find your local polling places here. Your submitted ballot will be processed and counted once the county elections office has completed the voter registration verification process. You can check your voter status from the California secretary of state website here. To find your record, you'll need to provide your full name, date of birth, state driver's license or identification card number and the last four digits of your Social Security number. Secure ballot drop-off locations opened May 5. You can visit the Los Angeles County Office of the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's website here to find a ballot box near you. Once cast your ballot, you can track it here. Staff writers Seema Mehta, Phil Willon and David Zahnister contributed to this report.