If your ballot was challenged because of a missing or mismatched signature, you can correct it by submitting a new signature. The deadline to resolve this is 5:00 PM two days before the election certification date. To submit your signature online, visit (pending).

All voters can vote in the primary. Any voter, regardless of party preference, can choose to vote for any official candidate.

The local contests, Board of Supervisors, etc., are nonpartisan offices and candidates do not run with a political party label on the ballot.

Party preference indicates the party the candidate is associated with as a registered voter. Voters may either register with a political party preference or "no party preference" if they are not affiliated with a qualified political party. A candidate's party preference does not necessarily mean that they have that political party's support. The list of candidates who receive a party's official endorsement is in the county voter information guide.

It depends. In certain contests you can write in the name of any qualified write-in candidate. You can see a list of qualified write-in candidates on our website and at any in-person voting location.

If you write a qualified write-in candidate (a candidate who filed paperwork with the election official to run as a write-in candidate), your vote will count for that candidate. If you write the name of someone who has not filed official write-in candidate paperwork, including fictitious characters, no vote will be counted for this contest.

A list of official write-in candidates will be available on the election website, the Elections office and at polling places. The official list will be available no sooner than May 22, 2026.

On June 8, 2010, California voters approved the Top-Two Open Primary Act (Proposition 14). See www.sos.ca.gov/elections/primary-elections-california/ for more information. This Act requires that, for specified state and federal offices, voters have the option of voting for any candidate regardless of political party. The two candidates with the most votes will appear on the ballot in the following general election.

The answer depends on the office. For voter nominated offices under the Top-Two Open Primary Act, the two candidates with the most votes will always appear on the general election ballot. In local contests, if a candidate receives over 50% of the vote in the primary, they are considered elected and will not appear in the general election. If no candidate receives over 50% of the vote in the primary, the two candidates with the most votes will be on the ballot in the general election.

Some areas near cities remain unincorporated even though postal codes use the name of the nearby city. Some examples of unincorporated areas that fall under this category include: CSUMB faculty housing and East Garrison, which fall just outside the City of Marina boundaries. Further, Boronda and parts of Prunedale fall outside the boundaries for the City of Salinas. You can always contact Monterey County Elections to verify your districts.