Want to vote in the presidential primary election? Here’s how

Interested in voting in the primary elections for president? Make sure to check your voter registration before the primary election day.

California has a unique primary election system in which the top two candidates in several races — such as Congress, governor and the state legislature — advance to the general election, no matter the political party.

But presidential primaries are held differently — and may not be on your ballot for the March 5 election depending on what political party you indicated a preference for.

The Republican presidential primary election is closed, meaning only voters who have marked the GOP for their party affiliation can vote in that election.

The Democratic presidential primary, on the other hand, is a modified-closed election. That means only voters who have marked Democrat as their party affiliation or have chosen no party preference can participate in that election.

Aside from the Democratic presidential primary election, NPP voters can participate in the American Independent Party or the Libertarian Party primaries.

NPP voters must request a ballot with presidential candidates on it, per the secretary of state’s guidelines.

An application to request a presidential primary election ballot can be found on the secretary of state’s website (sos.ca.gov/elections/voting-info) and can be submitted to your county elections office by phone, email, fax, other electronic means or in person. Or, ask a poll worker for a ballot with either of those primary races on it if you vote in person.

Voters who wish to participate in a closed or modified-closed primary election can change their political party preference at any time, said Jordan Reilly, a spokesperson for the California secretary of state.

There is no commitment for how long a person must retain that party affiliation, Reilly said.

You can check your voter registration status online at voterstatus.sos.ca.gov by inputting your name, birthday and other identification information like the last four numbers of your social security number and California driver license number. There, you can also change your voter registration.

The last day to register to vote for the primary election is Feb. 20, but same-day registration, or conditional voter registration, is available. Voters who participate in the election this way will still have their ballots processed and counted, albeit, just after the county elections office has completed their verification.

Source: Orange County Register