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Vote! “Democracy is not a spectator sport.”

Bicycling Monterey extends respect to everyone who takes time to inform themselves about candidates and issues, then votes according to their own beliefs and conscience.

  • voter registration and other voting info for all U.S. voters
  • specific info for California and for Monterey County

This post is provided as an intro about voting, and to highlight some common areas of confusion. For the most accurate, detailed, and up-to-date information, visit official government websites:

United States – https://www.usa.gov/how-to-vote
Californiahttps://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/
Monterey County – https://www.countyofmonterey.gov/government/departments-a-h/elections/vote/

 

Some people find non-governmental websites more user-friendly, but be careful to get info from reliable sources!
One widely trusted resource about registering to vote, finding your polling place, and more is nonpartisan website https://www.vote411.org/ launched in 2006 by the League of Women Voters (LWV) https://www.lwv.org/, a nonpartisan organization founded in 1920. Some additional non-governmental resources are also provided below.
For upcoming election dates,
and registration deadlines,
check your state’s website:
https://www.usa.gov/election-office.
Remember to vote in all elections, not just national races. For example, a county will sometimes have “County-Administered Elections — upcoming Local Elections.” For California counties, see: https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/upcoming-elections/county-administered-elections/

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YOUTH – Special note for youth throughout U.S.:

You may have a pre-registration option if you are age 16 or 17. And some states allow registered 17-year-olds who will be 18 by a general election to vote in a primary election. One non-governmental resource where you can learn more about this topic is http://www.headcount.org/think-youre-young-register/.

Looking for bicycling-specific voting resources? Scroll down.

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United States of America

California voters, note:

For any possible changes, and for the most accurate and complete information, visit the State of California website, http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/.

More info for California YOUTH age 16 or 17

More info for all Monterey County residents

As mentioned elsewhere in this post, a county may sometimes have “County-Administered Elections — upcoming Local Elections,” e.g., http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/upcoming-elections/county-administered-elections/. (NOTE: Don’t be confused by that page. If Monterey County is listed as “No elections scheduled at this time,” that just means there are no county-administered local elections. It does not mean that voters in Monterey County do not have other upcoming elections in which they can vote, e.g., upcoming national and state elections.)

 

Do you want

government representatives who share your concerns about issues such as bicycling infrastructureclimate change, or gun law reform? Register and vote!

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As the League of Women Voters says,

“Democracy is not a spectator sport!” 

Non-governmental Monterey County resource: League of Women Voters of Monterey County:  https://my.lwv.org/california/monterey-county

Bicycling-Specific

Voter Resources

California Bicycle Coalition (calbike.org)

CalBike leadership includes advocating for bike-friendly legislation and tracking voting records of state senators and assembly members. 
Visit the CalBike website for legislative information, e.g., https://www.calbike.org/calbike-announces-2024-legislative-agenda/

For any current CalBike
election endorsements, check

https://www.calbike.org/take_action/bike-the-vote/.

Additional info:

You may also wish to check #IBikeIVote and #BikeTheVote hashtags on social media platforms.

People for Bikes (peopleforbikes.org)

https://www.peopleforbikes.org/2024-voteforbikes

The League of American Bicyclists (bikeleague.org)
  • Sometimes the Bike League website includes information on upcoming elections. The best way to check may not be using the site’s own search window but instead doing an advanced web search, i.e., “site:bikeleague.org vote” / 
    https://duckduckgo.com/?q=site%3Abikeleague.org+vote&t=h_&df=y&ia=web” /
  • Archived note: U.S. Congressional voting records. As of 10/24/18, the League had recorded how members of Congress vote on issues that affect bicycling and walking, and the League planned to do that again in the future. With the current transportation bill expiring in 2020, there will be more U.S. Congressional votes coming. As for candidates, the League stated that they had a very difficult time getting campaigns to return completed questionnaires.  “Lesson learned; next time we will need more help in gathering completed questionnaires.”

 Register and Vote!

If you don’t register and vote, don’t whine. Improving the democratic system requires an informed electorate that votes.

#NationalVoterRegistrationDay National Voter Registration Day https://nationalvoterregistrationday.org serves to remind: please register so you can vote!

Curious? Bicycling Monterey’s founder is registered No Party Preference (a.k.a. no party affiliation). 
 

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This post was previously published 2013-2020.

Some bike-specific link updates were made Feb 29, 2024. This post was slightly updated for the November 8, 2022 election. It had also been revised and updated for the November 3, 2020 U.S. general election, including that links were updated in 2020. For the most accurate, detailed, and up-to-date information, start with official government websites:

Short link to this post: https://bit.ly/VoterRegInfo

This post was published on 13 October 2022. One or more changes last made to this post on 16 September 2024.

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