Voting in California: Voting

Voting by Mail

Instead of going to the polls on Election Day, you can use the vote-by-mail ballot that will be sent to you. Voters may return ballots by mailing it to your county elections official, dropping it into a ballot drop box, or bringing it to a voting center.

• Vote-by-mail ballots that are mailed must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received by your county elections office no later than 7 days after Election Day.  
• If you are not sure your vote-by-mail ballot will arrive in time if mailed, bring it to any polling place or drop box in the state before 8:00 p.m. on Election Day.
• You can ask someone to return your ballot for you, as long as they do not get paid on a per ballot basis. In order for your ballot to be counted, you must fill out the authorization section found on the outside of your ballot envelope.

More information on voting by mail.

Polling Places and Hours

Cerritos College has a ballot drop box for Los Angeles County in the drop off zone on Alondra Blvd. See map for location.

We also have a LA County Voting Center on campus in our Conference Center.  Click for directions.

This means you can vote on campus Nov. 2-4 10 am - 7 pm and from 7am - 8 pm on Election Day.

• Use the state's Polling Place Locator to find a polling place near your house, job, or school.
• Time off to vote: California Elections Code section 14000 allows workers up to two hours off, without a loss of pay, to vote if they do not have enough time to do so in their non-work hours. The law requires workers to notify their employers two working days before the election if they need to take time off to vote.

Help for Voters with Disabilities

• There are statewide Polling Place Accessibility Guidelines meant to guide county elections officials.
• County elections offices have more information about the accessibility of local polling places.
  • County offices with contact information.
• Disability Rights California has more information for disabled voters, including a guide to how to start a Voting Accessibility Advisory Committee to work with a county elections office to improve accessibility.
• Any registered voter may vote by mail.

Ballots

Got to Vote411 and enter your zip code to find your local ballot.

Sample ballots

• Voters can look up their official sample ballot at the website of their county's elections office.
  • County Elections Offices