Heads up, NPP and independent voters.
If you did not state a preference for a political party when you registered to vote, you’re not alone, but you may be left out of the primary election for President of the United States.
Nearly 113,000 No Party Preference (NPP) voters will not have any presidential candidates on their ballot for the March 5, 2024, primary election unless they re-register with one of the parties, at least for the March primary. NPPs are not affected during the November general election, but because California uses a closed-primary and closed-modified primary system, only voters registered with certain parties are allowed to vote for that party’s candidates.
To vote for Republican Party, Green Party or Peace and Freedom Party candidates, NPP and independent voters must submit a new registration at RegisterToVote.CA.Gov. Select the “Register to Vote Now” button and follow the instructions.
The Ventura County Office of Elections says, “No Party Preference voters will receive a ‘nonpartisan’ ballot that does NOT include any presidential candidates. The other races will be on your ballot. If a No Party Preference voter would like to vote for a presidential candidate from one of the official political parties, they will need to take action!”
If you are not sure about your voter registration, go to voterstatus.sos.ca.gov. Once you see the current status of your registration, you will have a link on the same results page that says, “To change your voter information, please re-register to vote: registertovote.ca.gov.”
Voters wanting to vote for the American Independent Party, Democratic Party or Libertarian Party do not need to re-register but need to request a ballot from that party.
