Carmel-by-the-Sea residents need to update their voter registrations after the city assigned street addresses to homes for the first time in more than a century.

No one will lose their vote over the change. The Monterey County Elections Office said voters do not need to re-register before the Nov. 3 general election to receive mail ballots or to cast a ballot by mail, according to KSBW. The office does need residents to update their addresses, but the update can happen after the election.

The requirement stems from Carmel's September rollout of formal street addresses, replacing the village's century-old system of directional descriptions like "Lincoln 3 SE of Third." Because voter registrations are tied to residential addresses, the county elections office says every Carmel voter must re-register using the newly assigned address.

Gina Martinez, Monterey County's registrar of voters, said the process is straightforward. "We have many ways that a voter can re-register; they can register online at registertovote.ca.gov," Martinez said. Paper forms are also available at libraries, post offices, city halls and the county elections office at 1441 Schilling Place in Salinas. Residents can request a form by calling (831) 796-1499.

When re-registering, voters should enter their new residential address in the home address field and keep their P.O. Box or mailing address in the separate mailing address field. Regular mail still goes to the Carmel post office, not to homes.

Carmel resident Catherine Whittaker told KSBW the switch was painless, saying she received a postcard with her new address, followed the instructions to re-register and had no trouble.

The county elections office is sending two rounds of mailings to Carmel voters: a postcard linking to registertovote.ca.gov and a follow-up for those who have not yet updated. Election staff will also offer in-person help at a resource fair on Tuesday, Oct. 13.

California's statewide deadline to register to vote online or postmark a mailed application is Monday, Oct. 19, according to the Los Angeles Times. Voters who miss that deadline can still register conditionally and cast a provisional ballot at county elections offices, polling places or vote centers through Election Day.

The Carmel City Council adopted Resolution 2025-087 on Oct. 7, 2025, directing staff to develop a street address system. The council passed the ordinance on Jan. 13, and city staff submitted final addressing data to Monterey County on May 8.

City Hall itself became 662 Monte Verde Street when the system launched in September. According to city planning documents, the program was designed to improve emergency response, public safety and navigation for residents and visitors.

In a September KSBW report on the rollout, Carmel administrative analyst Emily Garay summed up the philosophy: "Our slogan for this is 'new numbers, same traditions' … So we'll get numbers, but the tradition to go pick up your mail will continue down at the post office."

Property owners must display their new numbers within six months of the September launch, with digits at least four inches tall and half an inch wide.