SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Get ready, California voters. Ballots for the 2024 presidential election will be sent out soon.

Californians will be able to choose from candidates for president and vice president as well as U.S. senators and representatives. They can also make their voices heard by voting on a number of ballot propositions.

Every active registered voter in California will receive a vote-by-mail ballot.

That means you can mail in your ballot instead of going to the polls in person on Election Day, Nov. 5.

You can register to vote online.

When do ballots get sent out in California?

County officials will mail out ballots 29 days before the election, according to Ken Casparis with the Sacramento County Voter Registration and Elections office.

This means you can expect to get your ballot in your mailbox on or around Monday, Oct. 7, he said.

How do I vote by mail?

After filling out your ballot, insert it in the provided envelope and mail it to your county elections office.

Mail ballots must be postmarked on or before Election Day — Tuesday, Nov. 5 — and received by the elections office no later than seven days after Election Day, according to the California Secretary of State’s office.

If you can’t get to the post office by the deadline, you can bring your ballot to a polling place by 8 p.m. on Election Day.

You can also return your voted ballot directly at the county elections office or drop it off at an official drop-off location or drop box.

How do I track my ballot?

You can stay updated online on when your ballot has been sent out, when it was received by the county and if it was accepted online.

Do I need to sign up for a mail-in ballot?

Some California residents have received suspicious text messages about voter registration and mail-ballots, including texts telling them they need to sign up to get ballots by mail.

That’s not true.

“Every active registered voter in Sacramento County will receive a mail ballot automatically,” Casparis told The Sacramento Bee. — this isn’t something they need to sign up for.”

The county generally does not directly text voters, Casparis said.

The only time a legitimate text may appear to come from us is if a voter is signed up for ‘Where’s My Ballot?’ through BallotTrax, a ballot tracking service created by the California Secretary of State, he said.

Have a question about the 2024 election season?

ASK THE CALIFORNIA SERVICE JOURNALISM TEAM

You can submit questions directly to our reporters by emailing servicejournalists@sacbee.com or by filling out the form below. We have reporters covering election news in Sacramento, Modesto, Fresno, Merced and San Luis Obispo.

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