California Online Voter Guide

11th Edition, November 2004 General Election

About This Election

On Tuesday, November 2, 2004, millions of Californians will head to the polls to cast ballots in hundreds of contests. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Voters who aren't sure they can make it to the polls should sign up to get an absentee ballot to vote by mail.

For information about your right to cast a paper ballot, see CVF's announcement regarding the paper ballot option.

If you are unsure of your voter registration status or don't know your polling place, contact your county election office. For more information about voting in California, see CVF's Voting FAQ; for information about voting technology, see CVF's Map of California Voting Systems and Directory of California Voting Systems.

What's on the Ballot?

Across the state, voters will choose candidates in the Presidential race, one U.S. Senate race, 53 contests for the House of Representatives, and 100 state legislative contests (including 80 State Assembly and 20 State Senate races). Also on the ballot are sixteen statewide propositions. Depending on where you live, you may have local candidates or measures on your ballot as well. CVF's California Online Voter Guide includes information about all state candidates and measures; for information on local candidates and ballot issues CVF recommends SmartVoter.

Sample Ballots

If you are a registered voter, your county registrar will mail you an Official Sample Ballot including the location of your polling place and an absentee ballot application. In addition, the Secretary of State will mail you a Voter Information Guide describing the statewide propositions and listing state candidates. If you haven't received it, contact your county election office.

About This Guide

The California Online Voter Guide is an award-winning clearinghouse of election information and web site links produced by the California Voter Foundation for every statewide election since 1994. Now in its 11th edition, the 2004 guide serves up nonpartisan information on California propositions, the Presidential election, congressional races, and state legislative contests.

The initial source materials for this guide are the official Certified List of Candidates and State Voter Information Guide. CVF contacted every California legislative, congressional, Presidential, and proposition campaign to collect updated contact information and web site addresses. Candidates are listed in CVF's guide in the order they appear in the Certified List of Candidates, with the exception of Presidential and U.S. Senate candidates, who are grouped by parties listed in descending order according to their number of registrants in California.

Was this guide helpful?

We are interested in hearing your feedback about CVF's California Online Voter Guide. If you have suggestions, complaints, requests, or questions, please contact us.

Additional Resources

Visit CVF's Elections index page for additional election-related resources and archived California Online Voter Guides. CVF recommends the following nonpartisan web sites for additional 2004 general election information: