Voter Registration

To Register & Vote in Clark County You Must:

• Be a U.S. citizen
• Be 18 years old by the day of the next election
• Be a resident of Clark County
• Have your full civil rights

You Can Find Voter Registration Forms at The Following Locations:

• Clark County Elections Department (map)
  1408 Franklin St.
  Vancouver, WA
  Phone: (360) 397-2345
  
• Voter registration form from the Washington Office of Secretary of State
• Library branches
• Public schools
• Auto License subagencies
• City and town halls
• Motor Voter - register to vote when you apply for your driver's license
• Military and Overseas Voters can find the on-line version of the Federal Post Card Application at:
  http://www.fvap.gov/pubs/fpca.html

At the time you register, you must provide all of the following:

• Legal name
• Date of birth
• Gender
• Residence address in Clark County
• Mailing address, if not the same as residence address
• Signature
• Washington State Driver's License, ID Card or last 4 digits of your social security number

Deadlines
To vote in an upcoming election:

• Currently registered: Voter registration forms may be mailed and postmarked or presented in person at least 30 days before the election date. If you are reporting a change of name or address, the changes will become effective for the next election. You will receive a new voter registration identification card. If you miss the 30-day cutoff your mailed registration form will be held and processed after the election.
• Not registered in the State of Washington: If you are not currently registered anywhere in the State of Washington, you may submit your registration form in person at the Clark County Elections Department at least 15 days before the election date.

Address changes
Address changes must be made at least 30 days before the next election. You may do any one of the following:

• Complete and mail a mail-in voter registration form, which contains instructions on how to change your address; or
• Telephone the Elections Department at (360) 397-2345; or
• Send an email to elections@clark.wa.gov giving your name, old residential address, and new residential address; or
• Send a signed letter to the Elections Department giving your name, old residential address, new residential address, and your signature; mail the letter to our office at:

Clark County Elections Department
P.O. Box 8815
Vancouver, WA 98666-8815

To change your mailing address, include your old and new mailing addresses. You need to also include your residential address in the change notice even if your place of residence is not changing.

Name change notifications via email are not accepted. A voter registration form must be filled out. See the section titled, "To Register Under a New Name" for more information.

To Register Under a New Name
Do one of the following:

• Complete and mail a mail-in registration form which contains instructions on changing your name; or
• Pick up and mail a voter registration form at any of the locations noted above; or
• Visit the Elections Department at 1408 Franklin St.

Restoration of civil rights to convicted felons
In order to register to vote in the State of Washington, a felon must receive a Certificate of Discharge from the appropriate state agency. If the felon has more than one felony conviction, Certificates of Discharge must be obtained for all convictions. Applications/petitions can only be made if the felon has completed all conditions of their sentence, including incarceration and restitution.

Certificates of Discharge may be obtained through the following agencies:

• Federal Felony: Apply through the Clemency and Pardons Board of the Governor's Office
• Out-of-State Felony: Apply through the Clemency and Pardons Board of the Governor's Office
• Washington State Felony:
  1. Crime commited prior to 7/1/1984 and felon was incarcerated (served time in a prison): Apply through the Indeterminate Sentencing Review Board of the Department of Corrections
  2. Any other State felony: File a petition for restoration with the Superior Court of conviction.

Additonal information on this subject can be found at http://www.secstate.wa.gov/elections/faq.aspx or http://www.aclu-wa.org/issues/index.cfm?issue_id=12.

Some Things To Know About Voting In Clark County

• Election dates: General elections are held on the first Tuesday of every November.  Primaries are held on the third Tuesday of August preceding the general election.  Special elections may be held in the months of February, March, April, or May. See the elections calendar for exact dates.
• Partisan & Non-partisan elections: Generally, all races in odd-year primaries and general elections are for nonpartisan local positions in cities & towns, school districts, fire protection districts, cemetery districts, sewer districts and port districts. Even-year primaries and general elections are for partisan positions in county, legislative, state and federal jurisdictions. To find out which jurisdictions you live in, please call the Elections Department at (360) 397-2345 or email us at elections@clark.wa.gov.
• Political parties: Voters do not register for a political party in the state of Washington.

Be sure to sign your voter I.D. card and keep it with you!

 

top of page