1. Confirm the requester and permitted purpose
California lists candidates for federal, state, or local office; certain ballot-measure committees; and people requesting information for election, scholarly, journalistic, political, or qualifying governmental purposes among the categories that may apply. Approval depends on the requester, evidence, intended use, and completeness of the application.
Write the purpose around the actual California candidate, committee, measure, research, or political work. Do not describe unrelated commercial advertising, public lookup, harassment, resale, or an unspecified future use.
Sources: California voter registration information regulations · California Elections Code section 2194
2. Choose the statewide or county request
A statewide file is requested from the California Secretary of State and currently carries a $100 application fee. A county-specific file is requested from that county's elections official, and the fee varies by county.
Ask only for the geography the campaign actually needs. The official page also describes a separate specific-voter process, limited to 10 records per application; that is not the normal campaign-file path.
- Statewide file: Secretary of State, $100 application fee
- County file: county elections official, county-set fee
- Official review estimate: 7–14 business days after receipt
3. Complete the current application package
The Secretary of State instructions require the current application, a detailed intended-use explanation, an original signature, a clear copy of current driver license or state identification, supporting qualification documents, and the appropriate fee.
The current form says statewide applications must be mailed or hand-delivered; faxed or emailed applications are not accepted. Incomplete or vague packages can delay review or be denied.
- Applicant and beneficiary identity and contact details
- Specific candidate, committee, measure, or other approved purpose
- Detailed use and security explanation
- Original signature and current identification copy
- Qualification evidence and payment
4. Select the file components deliberately
The voter data file is included with an approved request and active voters are included automatically. Inactive records, available participation history, and precinct-to-district data must be requested on the application when the campaign needs them.
The official statewide delivery uses three plain-text tab-delimited files for voter data, participation history, and district relationships. Participation history shows whether and how a voter participated; it never shows ballot choices.
- Request inactive records only when the campaign has a defined use
- Request history for turnout analysis
- Request district data for precinct-to-district mapping
- Plan for a large database workflow rather than assuming spreadsheet-sized files
5. Prepare security before the file arrives
California's rules require due diligence, strong unique credentials, least privilege, sessions that lock after no more than 15 minutes of inactivity, secure handling of portable media, and secure sanitization when data is no longer needed. The official application also limits use to the approved purpose and restricts transfer.
Document who may access the file, where it will be stored, how it will be transmitted, how exports will be controlled, when copies will be deleted, and how a suspected exposure will be escalated before submitting the application.
Sources: California voter registration information regulations
6. Load the campaign's authorized copy
For California, the campaign stays the requester and beneficiary and brings its authorized copy to VoterFile. The application record must disclose Lopez Labs LLC/VoterFile and cover every person who can view voter rows. VoterFile processes the file only for that campaign's approved purpose in a private workspace; it does not turn the file into a public or cross-campaign dataset.
The default California lane for a campaign that is not a CCPA business—or whose status is unknown—uses authorized official fields, customer-directed filters and lists, turf, and campaign-entered activity without VoterFile-created voter-level BISG or turnout-propensity fields. Modeled fields require a separately documented privacy-law activation basis.
Keep the approval letter, application scope, source date, and delivery notes with the campaign's records. Confirm the refresh date before using an old file for paid mail, field, or voter-contact work.
Complete California access review before any file upload.
Submit the campaign, requester, issuing source, viewer list, geography, and intended use. VoterFile does not open upload, import, browse, export, or voter-level modeled output until the California activation checklist is complete.
Questions
How much is a statewide California voter file request?
The California Secretary of State currently lists a $100 application fee for the statewide voter registration information file. County-specific fees vary by county.
How long does the request take?
The Secretary of State says requests can take 7–14 business days to review and process after receipt. Incomplete applications can take longer or be denied.
Can the application be emailed?
The current statewide instructions say no: the application requires an original signature and must be mailed or hand-delivered. Recheck the current form before filing.
Does participation history show who someone voted for?
No. It may show election participation and voting method, but it does not contain ballot selections.
Does paying California's data-broker fee replace campaign voter-file approval?
No. California's voter-file access rules and its privacy/data-broker rules are separate. Registration does not authorize a prohibited voter-file purpose or an unapproved viewer. VoterFile keeps modeled voter-level fields off unless the order has a documented privacy-law activation basis in addition to the campaign's voter-file approval.
Is this guide legal advice or an approval guarantee?
No. It is an operational summary of public agency materials, not legal advice or a promise that an application will be approved. The agency decides whether the requester and proposed use qualify.