As you already know, 2020 is a total mess. To pre-empt the difficulty of voting during a pandemic, we’ve outlined all the different ways and times you can vote below.
Check if you are registered to vote HERE.
Oct. 5th: Ballots mailed out
October 19th: Deadline to register to vote
Oct 31st - Nov 3rd: In-person voting! Check here for the list of polling places available: https://www.acgov.org/rov_app/pollinglist
All Californians who are registered to vote this year will receive ballots by mail, sent out by October 5th. Please note that as of this writing, Trump is defunding and dismantling the USPS, deprioritizing mail-in ballots– so we encourage you to track your ballot using this tool: https://california.ballottrax.net/
Alameda County has set up 24-hour Ballot Drop Box sites. You can find your closest one here.
They also have “Ballot Drop Stops,” which are drive-thru ballot drop-offs. As of 10/8, the AC Vote website lists ONE drive-thru location for all of Oakland:
Rene C. Davidson Courthouse
1225 Fallon Street
Oakland, CA 94612
Monday through Friday
8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Starting Monday, October 5, 2020 up until Election Day
Weekend before the Election
9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 31 and Sunday, November 1, 2020
Election Day
7:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Tuesday, November 3, 2020
We encourage in-person polling where possible (SAFELY, please!), but we’d like to note that the regular neighborhood polling places are not going to be implemented this year, so you may need to travel further than you are used to! There are also fewer polling places than usual–as of 10/8, there are 26 accessible voting locations in Oakland. Be prepared, find a polling place on the AC Vote website.
We are looking for free and cheap ways to transport voters to the polls! If you have more suggestions, please let us know!
Nov 3rd only: Lime is providing free rides to the polls
Nov 3rd only: Lyft is offering 50% off rides that are $10 max*
Nov 3rd only: Uber is offering 50% off rides to and from the polls*
*Please note Uber and Lyft have been adding in-app advertisements about Prop 22, trying to get voters to classify drivers as independent contractors and not employees with benefits. We encourage you to read state-level voter guides from trusted sources to vote on this issue.
You will need to go to one of the polling places and tell them you need to vote provisionally because your ballot was lost in the mail. We anticipate this may happen to many voters. You should get a stub, which is essentially a receipt, from the ballot they give you to fill out–you can use that to look up when your ballot was counted.
As with previous years, Alameda County allows curbside voting for those unable to enter the polling place, and as required by law offer accessible voting booths. For more info on accessible voting, check out the AC vote website.