With the California primary on Mar. 5, eligible San Diego City College voters and residents of San Diego County who missed the voter registration deadline still have a viable option to make their voices heard, according to the Registrar of Voters.

The Conditional Voter Registration (CVR), a California election law, offers a lifeline for those who have yet to register, enabling them to cast a provisional ballot.

Under the conditional ballot provision, individuals can register conditionally and vote, but it comes with a few caveats. 

CVR is exclusively available in-person, requiring voters to allocate extra time for filling out additional forms before casting their ballots.

According to the Registrar, voters can still exercise their right to vote by visiting either the Registrar of Voters office, located at 5600 Overland Ave., during the 14 days leading up to and including Election Day, or at any vote center within the county.

Upon arrival, voters will receive a ballot and a green CVR provisional envelope. 

The process entails marking choices on the ballot, placing it inside the CVR provisional envelope, and sealing it shut, the Registrar states.

Additionally, voters must print and sign their name, as well as date the envelope.

According to the Registrar, the registration will be activated once the conditional voter registration form undergoes verification, ensuring a vote hasn’t been cast elsewhere in the state for the current election. 

Upon verification, the ballot will then be extracted from the CVR provisional envelope and included in the vote count.

This last-minute option serves as an avenue for those who missed the initial registration deadline, ensuring that every eligible vote has the opportunity to be cast.

Nicholas Boushee, a Political Science professor at City College, tries to emphasize to his students the importance of being involved in all aspects of the voting process.

“A lot of the immediate grievances that people have about their city, about their life, can be handled by halls of power that include the Board of Supervisors, City Council, the mayor’s office,” Boushee said. “The paradox of that is that people do not participate there in that arena that most likely affects them,”

Additional voting information and useful tips can be found here.