California voters have a legal right to election materials in a language other than English when enough people in their area speak it, according to the Secretary of State's Voter Bill of Rights. Which languages you get depends on your county and sometimes your precinct.

Two kinds of help

Full translation (federal Section 203). Under the federal Voting Rights Act, a county must offer all English election materials in another language when more than 10,000 voting-age citizens, or 5% of them, belong to a single language-minority group and don't speak English very well. The Census Bureau designates those languages. The last determination was Dec. 8, 2021, and the next is expected in December 2026, the Secretary of State says.

Facsimile ballots (state Elections Code 14201). In precincts where 3% or more of voting-age residents belong to a single language minority and need help voting in English, counties must post a translated copy of the ballot, called a facsimile ballot, plus instructions in a visible spot. You still mark the English ballot, but you can use the translated copy as a guide. The current list took effect Jan. 1, 2026.

Bay Area counties at a glance

  • Alameda: Full translation in Chinese, Spanish, Filipino and Vietnamese. Facsimile ballots in places for Bengali, Burmese, Chinese, Iu Mien, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Malay, Mongolian, Punjabi, Spanish, Tagalog, Urdu and Vietnamese.
  • Contra Costa: Full translation in Chinese and Spanish. Facsimiles for Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Lao, Nepali, Spanish, Tagalog, Urdu and Vietnamese.
  • Marin: Facsimiles for Chinese, Spanish and Vietnamese.
  • Napa: Full translation in Spanish. Facsimiles for Hindi, Spanish and Tagalog.
  • San Francisco: Full translation in Chinese and Spanish. Facsimiles for Bengali, Burmese, Chinese, Hindi, Hmong, Japanese, Korean, Mongolian, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai, Urdu and Vietnamese.
  • San Mateo: Full translation in Chinese, Filipino and Spanish. Facsimiles for Burmese, Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai and Vietnamese.
  • Santa Clara: Full translation in Chinese, Spanish, Filipino and Vietnamese. Facsimiles for Chinese, Farsi, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Mongolian, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese.
  • Santa Cruz: Facsimiles for Japanese, Spanish and Thai.
  • Solano: Facsimiles for Chinese, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese.
  • Sonoma: Full translation in Spanish. Facsimiles for Chinese, Korean, Nepali, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese.

Contra Costa's elections office says its registration forms, ballots, instructions and voter pamphlets are available in English, Spanish and Chinese. It also offers language tools at polling places in Hindi, Korean, Laotian, Nepali, Panjabi, Tagalog, Tamil, Telugu and Vietnamese, and has multilingual staff and poll workers.

Other help at the polls

You may also bring someone to help you vote, as long as it isn't your employer or a representative of your union. If you need a different kind of help, see our guide to accessible voting. Ask your county elections office which languages your polling place or vote center offers.

How to vote

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Polls and vote centers close at 8 p.m., and mailed ballots must be postmarked by Election Day and arrive within seven days. You can check your registration and ballot status at sos.ca.gov/elections. California lets you register and vote the same day at a vote center.

More races and measures: our 2026 election hub.