Register To Vote

Let Your Voice Count.


With this being a presidential election year, with national, state, and local issues of importance coming before the voters, now is the time to register to vote.

The following is important information to make sure your voter registration is current:

Voter registration cards are available at the following locations:

* local Post Office
* Department of Motor Vehicles
* local Library
* local City Clerk Offices
* Contra Costa County Elections Office

Fill out Voter Registration Cards CLEARLY in dark ink and always make sure you SIGN your name in order for your registration to be valid.

If you live in an apartment, always make sure you fill in the apartment number of your residence address.

Once your affidavit of registration is submitted to the Contra Costa County Election Department for processing, you should receive WRITTEN NOTIFICATION within 3-4 weeks. If you do not receive notification, please contact Contra Costa County Elections at 925-646-4166.

REMEMBER, ALWAYS RE-REGISTER IF YOU HAVE CHANGED YOUR NAME, RESIDENCE ADDRESS OR MAILING ADDRESS!

See: Contra Costa Voter Registration Information

Register to Vote Online

California On-line Voter Registration

Complete this on-line form and the Secretary of State of California will mail a typed registration form to you. After you receive the pre-typed form, just sign it and mail it to your county election official. They recommend you use this service at least one month prior to election day to avoid missing your opportunity to vote due to postal delays.

Once you receive your form in the mail, which takes approximately 7 to 14 days, you must sign, date, and return it by mail to the county elections official on the return address side of the voter registration card. Please make sure all of the information is correct and drop it back in the mail. State of California will pay for the postage!

For security purposes, full on-line voter registration is not yet available and current law requires the voter's original signature be affixed to the VRC, by completing the information requested in the on-line form of the state website, a registration card with your information will be printed and mailed to you.

You can also download the voter registration form, print it out, fill it out completely, sign it, and mail it back directly to:

Contra Costa

Stephen L. Weir, County Clerk
555 Escobar Street
P O Box 271
Martinez, CA 94553

(925) 335-7800
(925) 335-7842 Fax
Toll Free (Domestic) 1-877-335-7802

Hours 8:00am - 5:00pm

Website: www.cocovote.us

Contra Costa Home Sales Down 46 Percent year to year

Home Sales in the East Bay took a turn for the worst in November. DataQuick Information Systems issued a report showing that Bay Area Home Sales were down on average 36% with Contra Costa County showing a decrease of 46% from previous November 2006 total home sales. Median sales prices also dropped in Contra Costa County of 6.9 percent.

All Homes	Number Sold Nov-06	Number Sold Nov-07	Percent Change	Median November 2006	Median November 2007	Percent Change
Alameda	1,560	985	-36.9%	$581,000	$565,000	-2.8%
Contra Costa	1,627	879	-46.0%	$567,500	$528,500	-6.9%
Marin	285	206	-27.7%	$847,500	$871,000	2.8%
Napa	125	81	-35.2%	$599,000	$562,000	-6.2%
Santa Clara	2,028	1,317	-35.1%	$673,000	$678,000	0.7%
San Francisco	568	479	-15.7%	$760,000	$814,750	7.2%
San Mateo	678	504	-25.7%	$749,000	$780,000	4.1%
Solano	629	313	-50.2%	$441,000	$375,550	-14.8%
Sonoma	542	363	-33.0%	$535,000	$470,000	-12.1%
Bay Area	8,042	5,127	-36.2%	$620,000	$629,000	1.5%

Source: DataQuick Information Systems, www.DQNews.com

DQNews.com Report

Bay Area home sales stuck at two-decade low; price picture mixed

The Bay Area's housing market remained in a bit of deep freeze in November, when sluggish demand kept sales at a two-decade low for the third straight month. Prices continued to hold up best in the region's core markets, while some outlying areas posted more double-digit annual declines, a real estate information service reported.

East Bay Business Times Reports

Mortgage crisis front and center: Biggest risk for economy is real estate

The housing market dominated economic and financial headlines in 2007, and is expected to be a major driver next year as well.

"Housing is front and center, and a major risk factor going forward," said Scott Anderson, a senior economist at Wells Fargo & Co. who puts the chances of California entering a short, shallow recession at almost 50 percent.

Business spending generally follows consumer spending, Thornberg said, so a slowdown in consumer spending will typically be followed several months later by a slowdown in business spending. He will be watching to see if there are dramatic decreases in business spending in the second and third quarters of 2008.

Anderson at Wells sees a potential slowdown in commercial real estate next year, which in 2007 stayed fairly strong as the residential market tanked. With banks tightening credit and scrutinizing loan portfolios, "we've seen the best days in commercial real estate," Anderson said. "Our fear is it could deteriorate more than expected."