Election Day in San Diego County: Polls Open 7 to 8, and the Ballot in Your Drawer Is the One at Risk
Every registered voter in the county was mailed a ballot weeks ago. Tuesday, Nov. 3, is the last day it can be postmarked, dropped off, or swapped for an in-person vote — here is exactly how each path works.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, and San Diego County voters are choosing a new governor for California, all of the county's seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, state legislators, judges, and a long list of county, city, and school board races. Polling places and vote centers across the county are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and anyone standing in line at 8 p.m. is entitled to vote.
California mailed a ballot to every active registered voter for this election, so the most common Election Day mistake is not forgetting to vote — it is forgetting the ballot on the kitchen counter. A completed mail ballot can be returned three ways on Tuesday: handed to a worker at any vote center or polling place in the county, placed in an official ballot drop box by 8 p.m., or mailed. A mailed ballot counts if it is postmarked on or before Election Day and arrives at the Registrar of Voters within seven days — by Nov. 10 — but election officials urge anyone mailing on Tuesday itself to go inside a post office and ask for a hand-stamped postmark.
Voters who never received a ballot, lost it, or simply prefer to vote in person can do so at vote centers around the county, where a replacement ballot can be issued on the spot. Under California's Voter's Choice Act model, San Diego County voters are not limited to a single assigned precinct for most services — any vote center in the county can check you in, print your ballot, and take your vote.
It is also not too late for eligible residents who never registered. California offers conditional voter registration through Election Day itself: register in person at the Registrar of Voters office in Kearny Mesa or at a vote center, and you can cast a ballot the same visit. The ballot is counted once registration is verified.
Two more practical notes. State law gives California workers up to two hours off, without loss of pay, to vote if they do not have enough time outside work hours — employees are asked to give two working days' notice, and employers are required to post the rule before the election. And if anything goes wrong at check-in — a name not found, a ballot already recorded — voters can always ask for a provisional ballot rather than leaving unheard. Signed, sealed, and in by 8 p.m. is the whole game on Tuesday.
