Ballots are in the mail. 5 million Californians still have to do one more thing to vote

California voters are beginning to get their ballots in the mail, and more than 5 million of them might have restricted choices in the presidential primary because they registered as having no party preference.

Those unaffiliated Californians might have to request a special ballot or even switch parties to cast a vote for the candidate of their choice.

With early voting already underway and the March 3 primary election quickly approaching, candidates are competing fiercely for this group of voters — a bloc that could have a major impact on the outcome of the 2020 Democratic presidential race.

Bernie Sanders’ campaign held an event in Sacramento on Thursday to highlight its website, phone hotline, mobile application and volunteer-led efforts throughout the state. It has also been aggressive in using registration databases to text no party preference voters.

“We feel confident our efforts are going to turn this around and voters will turn out,” said Rafael Navar, Sanders’ California state director.

Sanders’ team boasts it has the most extensive ground game operation, though Michael Bloomberg will soon have as many offices as Sanders and nine times more paid employees. Bloomberg also to compete for no party preference votes.

Other campaigns have smaller operations but are also committed to winning over independents.

It’s important for candidates to get these voters out earlier if they want their results to be counted in the totals released on election night. The later the votes come in, the longer it will take for state elections officials to count the ballots. If these votes are still being counted several weeks after the election, candidates could miss out on momentum they’d have other gained on or immediately after election night.

A lot is at stake for these campaigns, and the biggest challenge they face is explaining the voting process to those who are nonpartisan and may therefore be less likely to cast a ballot.

Here’s how to vote if you’re not a registered as a Democrat or a Republican:

How to vote

A report released Thursday by Secretary of State Alex Padilla shows shows nearly 5.3 million Californians are registered as NPP. They outnumber registered Republicans.

Under rules set by the state parties, no party preference voters can request a ballot from the Democratic, Libertarian or American Independent Party. Unaffiliated Californians wishing to vote Republican, however, will need to change their party affiliation to the GOP.

Padilla’s office offers an online step-by-step guide on how to vote for president.

“The California primary may be on March 3, but for millions of Californians it’s starting now,” Padilla said at a Feb. 3 news conference. “We’re seeing Californians clearly fired up, ready to vote, and elections officials are here to help every step of the way.”

County elections offices recently sent postcards to no party preference registrants who vote by mail urging them to return it with the ballot they’d like to request. About a third of total no party preference voters also received emails.

Those who don’t return their postcards will be mailed a ballot without any presidential candidates. They must contact their county elections office or visit a local vote center or polling site in person to get a new ballot.

No party preference voters who prefer to go to the polls can also ask a poll worker for a Democratic ballot on Election Day, or change their party registration to Republican.

Padilla encourages people to check their voter registration status, including political party, by visiting voterstatus.sos.ca.gov or calling California’s voter hotline at 1-800-345-VOTE.

To vote for the first time or update your voter registration information, including political party, visit RegisterToVote.ca.gov, ahead of a Feb. 18 registration deadline. Mail ballots can be requested until Feb. 25 and must be postmarked no later than March 3.

American Independent voters are different

It’s important to note that 600,000 Californians are affiliated with the American Independent Party. Some of them may have registered with the party inadvertently and had intended to register without party preference.

To vote in either the Democratic or Republican primary, they must change their party affiliation and align themselves with the party they’d prefer to vote for in the upcoming March 3 election.

They can also choose to vote in the Democratic primary by registering with no party preference, but they’d then have to take an additional step of requesting a Democratic ballot.