(a) A person entitled to register to vote shall be a United States citizen, a resident of California, not imprisoned for the conviction of a felony, and at least 18 years of age at the time of the next election.

(b) A person entitled to preregister to vote in an election shall be a United States citizen, a resident of California, not imprisoned for the conviction of a felony, and at least 16 years of age.

Terms Used In California Elections Code 2101

  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Election: means any election including a primary that is provided for under this code. See California Elections Code 318

(c) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Imprisoned” means currently serving a state or federal prison term.

(2) “Conviction” does not include a juvenile adjudication made pursuant to § 203 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

(Amended by Stats. 2020, Ch. 320, Sec. 1. (AB 646) Effective January 1, 2021. Note: The operational condition in Sec. 10 of Ch. 320 was satisfied by approval of Prop. 17 (ACA 6) at the Nov. 3, 2020, election.)