Outreach to New Voters: Otherwise Eligible Residents on Parole Can Vote in California!

Dear Community Partner,
Thank you for your collaboration with the San Francisco Department of Elections in providing registration and voting information to City residents last year. As we plan our outreach efforts in 2021, we want to highlight the importance of the passage of Proposition 17 in the November 2020 election, which amended the state Constitution to allow otherwise eligible residents who are on parole to register to vote.

The current requirements to register to vote in California are therefore:
• A United States citizen and a resident of California (except for non-citizens eligible to vote in San Francisco’s School Board elections),

• At least 18 years old before or on the day of the election,

• Not currently serving a state or federal prison term for the conviction of a felony, and

• Not currently found mentally incompetent to vote by a court.

The office of the California Secretary of State (SOS) has updated both online and paper versions of the state voter registration applications. The updated paper voter registration applications will become available this summer. To request voter registration applications, please contact us at (415) 554-5685 or email sfoutreach@sfgov.org.

As part of your organization’s effort to organize your outreach activities for residents currently or formerly involved in the justice system, you may also find Voting Rights: Persons with a Criminal History webpage and the Restore Your Vote tool, both recently updated by the SOS, helpful.

Lastly, the Outreach Division is happy to answer any questions you may have or provide a presentation on this subject – please feel free to contact us at your convenience. If you are interested in having our team at your in-person or virtual event, please complete the Event Request Form below and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Respectfully,
The Voter Outreach Team