1. Vote. (Please, Please, Please!)
It helps if you know what you’re doing.

2. Local officials include mayor, city council members, county supervisors, water district officials, county supervisors, school board members, and more.
State officials include state senators, state assembly members, governor, lieutenant governor, state attorney general, state superintendent of public schools, and more
National officials include president, vice president, senators, members of Congress
Elected officials

3. Recent examples:
The death penalty
Recreational use of marijuana
Multilingual education
Cigarette tax
Plastic bags
Ammunition sales
Condoms in adult films
State propositions are proposed laws that would only affect California (these are always numbers, like Prop. 65)

4. Recent examples:
Money for elementary schools/infrastructure
Money for secondary schools/infrastructure
Money for SBCC/infrastructure
Building on the waterfront property in SB
Increase hotel taxes
Local measures are proposed laws that would only affect your county (these are always letters, like measure s)

5. You must register! Where to register:
Sometimes you can register when people are standing out in front of Trader Joe’s (or wherever)
Often, those people are trying to get you to register so they can get your vote on some issue they are working for, so be careful
Go to the DMV, online
You have to be a US citizen and 18 or older (although I think you can pre-register)
You usually have to be registered at least a month ahead of an election
Pick a party (this is public information)
You must register!

6. You must register! Where to register:
Go to the DMV, online, or the county elections office at 4440-A Calle Real
(between Turnpike and State exits)
You need your CA ID or driver’s license
The last four numbers of our SSN & birth date
Re-register if you move, change your name, or your political party
You must register!

7. Have questions? Need voter info?
County Elections Office
Elections
Office
IHOP
IN N OUT
Blue Skies
Have questions? Need voter info?

8. Other registration info
You can vote at your polling place or absentee (by mail)
I changed my registration when I lived in San Diego, but not anywhere else (I did absentee voting instead)
Be aware of the deadlines for absentee voting and follow the directions closely (signatures, etc)
You can take your mail-in ballot directly to the polling place, if necessary
Make sure you can get to your polling place on the day of the election if you don’t vote by mail
You can vote for national-level stuff while abroad at the US Consulate, if needed
Other registration info

9. You’ll get info in the mail
It’ll come early. Don’t recycle it until after the election because you’ll refer to it more often than you’d think.
You’ll get info in the mail

10. You can make educated decisions if you’re actually educated
How to make smart choices:
Follow current events
Know which politicians you trust
Familiarize yourself with different organizations to know if you trust them
Read/annotate the arguments for and against with a critical eye
Do some Google searches, making sure to note the sources of information
You can make educated decisions if you’re actually educated

11. What it looks like in my house
Figuring things out:
I discuss the issues with my mom and Vic, usually over dinner one night (pretty close to the election) with all the materials close at hand
I make notes in the voter guide as I go
Sometimes we agree to disagree
Sometimes we just can’t decide, so I agree to vote one way and someone else agrees to to vote the other way so we cancel each other out
What it looks like in my house

12. You’ll get info in the mail
Let’s look at the info you’ll receive, starting with your rights.
You’ll get info in the mail