To register to vote in San Francisco, go to registertovote.ca.gov, mail a paper form to the Department of Elections, or walk one in to the City Hall Voting Center at 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 48.1SF.gov. The City Hall Voting Center The online form takes a few minutes. You need to be registered at least 15 days before an election to get a regular ballot; after that cutoff, same-day registration is still available through Election Day.
Who Can Register
You qualify if you are a United States citizen, a California resident living in San Francisco, and at least 18 years old by Election Day.2California Secretary of State. Who Can Vote in California If you are 16 or 17, you can pre-register now and your record switches to active automatically when you turn 18.3California Legislative Information. California Elections Code 2102
A felony conviction does not permanently bar you from voting in California. You can register if you have finished your prison term, or if you are on parole, probation, post-release community supervision, or mandatory supervision. The one exception is people currently serving a state or federal prison sentence for a felony. When a sentence ends, registration does not reactivate on its own; you need to submit a new form.4California Secretary of State. Voting Rights: Persons with a Prior Felony Conviction
If you do not have a fixed address, you can still register. List a cross street, intersection, or shelter location as your residence, and give a mailing address where the county can send your ballot. If you recently lost housing, you can keep using your last known voting address until you establish a new one.
What You Need to Fill Out the Form
Have your California driver’s license or state ID card number ready. If you don’t have either, use the last four digits of your Social Security number. If you have none of these, you can still register; the county assigns you a unique identifier, and you may be asked to show ID the first time you vote.5California Secretary of State. California Voter ID and Registration Requirements
The form asks for your residential address, which sets your precinct and ballot, and asks you to pick a political party or to choose “No Party Preference.” The choice matters most in a presidential primary. Register with a party and you get that party’s primary ballot. Register with No Party Preference and you get a nonpartisan ballot by default, but you can request a party’s ballot if that party has opted to let unaffiliated voters participate.6California Secretary of State. No Party Preference Information
The Three Ways to Register
The fastest route is online at registertovote.ca.gov. The application is available in multiple languages. If your California driver’s license or ID card is on file with the DMV, your signature is pulled electronically and you don’t need to mail anything.7California Secretary of State. California Online Voter Registration
You may already be registered without realizing it. California’s Motor Voter program automatically registers eligible citizens who complete a driver’s license, ID card, or address change transaction at the DMV, unless they opt out. If you’ve been to the DMV recently, check your status before filling out another form.8California Secretary of State. California Motor Voter
Paper forms are stocked at post offices, public libraries, and the San Francisco Department of Elections. You can mail a completed form to the Department of Elections or hand it in at the City Hall Voting Center on the ground floor of City Hall, Room 48.1SF.gov. The City Hall Voting Center A mailed form has to be postmarked by the deadline to count.
Deadlines and Same-Day Registration
The regular registration deadline is 15 days before Election Day. For the June 2, 2026 primary, that means registering by May 18, 2026.9California Secretary of State. Primary Election – June 2, 2026 The November 3, 2026 general election uses the same 15-day rule, with a cutoff of October 19, 2026.
Miss the deadline and you can still vote. California’s Conditional Voter Registration, better known as same-day registration, runs through the 14 days before an election and on Election Day itself. Go to the City Hall Voting Center, any San Francisco vote center, or any polling place, fill out a registration form, and cast a conditional provisional ballot. It counts once the elections office verifies your registration.10California Secretary of State. Same Day Voter Registration
Non-Citizen Registration for School Board Elections
San Francisco lets certain non-citizens vote in one local race only: Board of Education elections. If you are a parent, legal guardian, or caregiver of a child living in San Francisco, you can register for that race regardless of citizenship status. Your child does not need to be in public school or school-age. Both of you must live in San Francisco, and you must be at least 18 on Election Day.11SF.gov. Non-citizen Voting Rights in Local Board of Education Elections
This process is separate from the state system. You cannot use registertovote.ca.gov or the DMV. Instead, request a postage-paid Non-Citizen Voter registration form from the San Francisco Department of Elections and return it by mail or in person. Your registration expires after each Board of Education election, so you have to re-register before every cycle.11SF.gov. Non-citizen Voting Rights in Local Board of Education Elections
Updating Your Registration
Re-register whenever you move, change your name, or want to switch your party preference. The simplest path is a new online form at registertovote.ca.gov with the updated information.12California Secretary of State. Voter Registration A DMV address change may trigger the update automatically through Motor Voter.
An address change inside San Francisco updates your precinct, which controls your local contests and your assigned vote center. A party change before a presidential primary decides which ballot you receive. Submit updates before the 15-day deadline so your new information reaches your ballot in time. If you miss it, same-day registration also works for corrections.10California Secretary of State. Same Day Voter Registration
Checking That Your Registration Went Through
Confirm your record before any election at voterstatus.sos.ca.gov. The lookup uses your name, date of birth, and either your driver’s license number or the last four digits of your Social Security number, and it shows whether you’re registered, where, your party preference, and your language preference.13California Secretary of State. My Voter Status If you just registered online, wait at least 24 hours before you check. Without a California ID or Social Security number, call the San Francisco Department of Elections or the Secretary of State’s voter hotline at (800) 345-8683.