The March 5, 2024 general election is approaching and UC San Diego encourages eligible students, faculty, and staff to register to vote and then to exercise those voting rights. The deadline to register to vote is Tuesday, February 20, 2024. We also encourage you to be mindful about restrictions regarding using university resources for political activities.
ELIGIBLE VOTERS MAY
California law requires that every eligible voter in the state receive a mail-in ballot by default. Voters may submit completed ballots by mail or deposit them at designated drop-boxes and drop sites. For registered California voters who choose to vote by mail, you can return your mail ballot from February 6 - March 5, 2024 to any polling location, any mail ballot drop off location throughout the county, or simply drop it in a United States Post Office Box with no postage necessary. In partnership with the San Diego County Registrar of Voters, UC San Diego will host a ballot drop box outside of the northeast entrance to Price Center on Matthews Lane. Please remember ballot envelopes should be signed and sealed before deposited into the ballot drop box. For questions, comments, or concerns, check sdvote.com or contact the Registrar of Voters at (858) 565-5800.
For registered voters who choose to vote in person, vote centers will be open for 11 days in San Diego County. All vote center locations will be open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. from February 24 - March 4, 2024. On March 5, all vote center locations will be open from 7 a.m.- 8 p.m.
Eligible students, faculty and staff who have registered to vote can vote at the designated on-campus vote center location in the Bear and Red Shoe Room inside of the UC San Diego Price Center. The on-campus vote center location at Price Center will accommodate eligible voters who wish to vote or to fill out a provisional ballot; it will also accommodate San Diego County vote-by-mail voters who wish to drop off their ballots. Finally, this polling location will allow California residents to complete the conditional voter registration process to register and cast a ballot on the same day.
Students: Be sure to register to vote before the deadline of February 20 and do one of the following:
- Use Early Voting Opportunities at your local Registrar of Voters Office to vote in person
- Return your Vote-by-Mail Ballot before departing for San Diego
- Bring your Vote-by-Mail Ballot with you to San Diego to return in any of the places indicated above
POLITICAL ACTIVITY
UC San Diego is home to politically active and engaged students, staff, and faculty who are eager to make a difference on campus and in the world. As such, we remind faculty and staff about the University of California’s guidelines on political activities. UC staff and faculty are encouraged to be engaged and politically active. However, such participation and activities cannot be done on behalf of the university. Legal guidelines for UC participation in ballot campaigns and political activity are available at: https://go.ucsd.edu/2RTfvtZ. The use of university resources/funds for ballot initiatives and/or activities that might reasonably be viewed as partisan political activity is generally prohibited.
Individuals who improperly use university resources for political advocacy may be subject to disciplinary actions. Examples of university resources that should not be used for political advocacy may include, but are not limited to:
- University telephones, email, or websites;
- Letterhead or other university-printed materials; and
- University-linked social media.
In addition, wearing a UC San Diego name badge to a political event is not allowed.
If you have further questions, students should contact Alfredo Barcenas, Director of Student Governments, Auxiliaries, and Services at: albarcenas@ucsd.edu. Faculty/staff should contact Kaitlin Chell, Executive Director of State and Local Government & Community Relations at: kchell@ucsd.edu.
