Register to Vote in Monterey County, CA
This service isn't handled by the County Clerk-Recorder. Here's where to go instead.
Who keeps the roll in Monterey County. Elections here are run by the Monterey County Registrar of Voters, which is a different office from the County Clerk-Recorder whose address this page carries. The office is named here from the California Secretary of State's county elections offices list (undated; as of 23 September 2026), not from a page of its own. Its own page ↗
There is no fee. Registration is by affidavit delivered to the county elections official (§ 2102(a)), and nothing in the chapter authorizes a charge.
An affidavit received on or before the 15th day before an election is effective for it (§ 2102(a)), and ordinary registration closes for the last 14 days (§ 2119(a)). But § 2170 provides conditional voter registration: in exactly those 14 days, and on election day itself, you may register and vote a provisional ballot at the county elections office or a vote center. The ballot counts once the county validates the registration.
Online, if you have California ID. § 2196 lets anyone with a California driver's license or state identification card register on the Secretary of State's site at registertovote.ca.gov. Without one, the paper affidavit goes to the county elections official — who must keep cards at the office and at enough places across the county to make registering easy (§ 2158(a)), in every language the federal Voting Rights Act requires. You can pre-register at 16 and your registration becomes active when you turn 18 (§ 2000(c)).
⚠️ This office does not process voter registration. Use the agency linked above. The office below is your county's County Clerk-Recorder — useful for other services.
Call or check the county website for the County Clerk-Recorder's office address and hours.