Orange County voters are now able to cast their ballots for the 2026 primary election in person.
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Nearly 40 vote centers around the county open today. These are in addition to the dozens of ballot drop boxes already available around the county.
Vote centers offer a range of services, aside from serving as a place to cast a ballot. There, voters can obtain a replacement ballot or one in their preferred language, register to vote and cast a provisional ballot or find other help for voting-related issues.
Vote centers will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., through June 1. On Election Day, which is June 2, vote centers will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
One vote center, located at the Garden Grove Sports and Recreation Center, 13641 Deodara Dr., will not open today, however. It has been repurposed into a shelter during the hazmat emergency in Garden Grove and will remain closed “until further notice,” according to the registrar.
An additional 152 vote centers will open up around the county on May 30.
Nearly 2 million registered voters in Orange County were sent ballots this year.
As of Friday morning, more than 181,800 ballots already had been returned, according to the registrar of voters. Nearly 80,000 of those are from registered Republican voters, about 61,000 are registered Democrats and another 28,600 are no party preference.
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Monday was the deadline to register to vote, but there is still an opportunity to cast a ballot in the primary election for those who missed it.
California has what’s called “conditional voter registration.” Eligible citizens are able to register or reregister to vote at their county elections office, polling place or vote centers and cast a ballot. Those ballots won’t be processed and counted, however, until the county elections office has verified the voter’s registration application.
Those who already have voted can track their ballot status with the California secretary of state’s “Where’s My Ballot” tool. Found at california.ballottrax.net, voters input their name, date of birth and ZIP code to register for the service. It will relay the status of the ballot and voters can sign up to receive information about its process via email, text message or call.
Ballots must be cast by June 2. Mailed ballots must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received by the county elections office no later than seven days after Election Day.
For more information, including where to find the nearest ballot drop box or vote center, check out the Orange County registrar of voters’ website at ocvote.gov/voting.
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