More than 87.87% of eligible Californians are registered to vote in the November 3, 2020 General Election. This is the highest percentage of eligible citizens registered to vote in the past 80 years.

“As the polls opened, voter registration was at an all-time high in California, with more than 22 million Californians,” Secretary of State Alex Padilla said. “There are more voters registered in California than the number of people in the state of Florida! Elections officials and poll workers have been working diligently to provide a safe and accessible election during a pandemic.”

All California voters can sign up at any time to track their ballot at WheresMyBallot.sos.ca.gov. Voters who sign up for “Where’s My Ballot?” will receive automatic updates when the county elections office mailed, received, counted or has issues with the voter’s ballot as well as receive important election deadlines and critical updates such as polling place changes.

On October 2nd, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla joined Orange County Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley and District Attorney Todd Spitzer in Santa Ana to promote transparency by informing the public about voting options and the County’s response plans to help safeguard the election process. During this press conference, the Orange County Registrar of Voters loaded more than 1.7 million official vote-by-mail ballots for transportation to the United States Postal Service with forklifts and semi-trucks.

Padilla and Kelley explained, as fraud protection measures, that each county’s ballots are printed on special paper stock with a watermark, which makes them harder to duplicate; each return envelope is printed with a unique barcode tied to a specific voter; election workers check the signature on the envelope of completed ballots against the one on file at the registrar’s office; and in-person voters feed their own filled-out paper ballot into a scanner, so no one else handles it before it’s tallied.

“For a lot of folks, the election is underway,” California Secretary of State Alex Padilla said, noting that all 21 million “active registered voters” across the state will have ballots mailed to them and some counties got started before Monday, October 5.

Other NBA arenas across the country opened their doors and converted into voting centers during this unprecedented time. For a look back at which arenas were opened and other ways the league is encouraging civic engagement visit: https://voices.nba.com/civicengagement/

On October 30, Secretary Padilla joined Governor Gavin Newsom and former Dodgers player Fernando Valenzuela at Dodger Stadium to encourage early voting. They were also able to commemorate the Dodger's World Series victory.

Dodger's Stadium is one of many sports venues that will serve as a Vote Center for the November 3, 2020 General Election.

The Honor Veterans. Vote. program provides California citizens with the opportunity to pay tribute and dedicate their vote to a veteran or active duty service member.

By submitting your dedication, you can choose to receive a certificate or lapel pin to proudly display appreciation for your honored veteran or active duty service member. There is also an option to have an email notification sent to the veteran or service member you are honoring, notifying them of your tribute.

"Our Democracy is possible thanks to the service and sacrifice of our veterans, as well as active duty members of the military," Secretary of State Padilla said. "I invite you to participate in our Honor Veterans. Vote. program, by dedicating a past, or your future vote, in honor of a family member, a friend, or other loved one who is a veteran, or is actively serving today."

All dedications are proudly displayed on the Secretary of State website, and can be found here.

This year, more than 65,000 Californian college students have registered to vote since the second California University and College Ballot Bowl, a friendly competition between California colleges, launched on August 17, 2020. This is an enormous increase compared to the approximately 21,000 Californian college students who registered to vote using the Secretary of State’s online voter registration system the entire year of 2016.

This year, 94 campuses registered in the competition, including all 23 CSU campuses, 10 UC campuses, 51 CCC, and 10 AICCU campuses.

"College students are excited and motivated to turn out to vote,” said California Secretary of State Alex Padilla. “Not only have we seen a dramatic increase in the voter registration numbers of California college students compared to previous election years, but we’ve also seen 94 California university and college campuses take the initiative to join the Ballot Bowl, and encourage their students to register and vote.”

"I’m thrilled to see the record-shattering numbers of California college students registering to vote this election year," said Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis. "Thanks to the leadership of students and universities across the state, the California Student Vote Project is making huge progress in encouraging student civic engagement and promoting a democracy that is more inclusive of students.”

On October 6th, 181 schools cast 43,294 ballots in California’s Student Mock Election. California students participating in the statewide Mock Election “voted” for United States President and twelve statewide measures on the November 3, 2020, General Election ballot. The Secretary of State’s office provided schools with mock election ballots, voter information guides, and posters to promote voting.

“Our Student Mock Election is preparing young Californians across the state to become active voters,” Secretary of State Alex Padilla said. “Even though most students will not be old enough to cast a ballot this November, they can still gain valuable experience researching candidates and discussing ballot propositions with their peers and teachers. The student mock election is a fun, hands-on way to help young people familiarize themselves with the democratic process. The Secretary of State’s office has been proud to work with educators and elections officials across the state to prepare the next generation of Californians to become regular participants in our democracy.”

The Mock Election resulted in 67.64% of the votes going to Joseph R. Biden, 17.98% to Donald J. Trump, while the remaining votes were divided up between Gloria La Riva, Roque De La Fuente Guerra, Howie Hawkins, and Jo Jorgensen. All 12 Ballot Measures passed.

Beyond the Mock Election, there are several great ways to make a difference in the elections while you’re still in high school. For instance, once you are 16 or older, you can pre-register to vote, or become a student poll worker. Additionally, organizing voter registration drives and participating in National Voter Registration Day are other great ways to make a real difference in your community and share the power of voting. Learn more at HighSchool.sos.ca.gov.

On Thursday, October 8^th, actress America Ferrera and comedian Cristela Alonzo joined civil rights icon Dolores Huerta and California Secretary of State Alex Padilla for an interactive virtual discussion with California voters ahead of the November 3^rd General Election.

During the event, the moderators lead a discussion with Huerta and Padilla and answer questions from voters across California including addressing what voters can do if they are registered but don’t receive their ballots, information for displaced voters due to wildfires, safety measures put in place due to COVID-19, options for voting this election, and discuss several other resources available to registered and eligible voters ahead of Election Day.

To use the California Elections skill, a user must tell any Alexa device: “Alexa, enable the California Elections skill.” Then users can simply ask any Alexa-enabled device a question about California elections. For example: