Deadline today for nonpartisan registered voters who want to vote for president in the March primary

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – Nonpartisan registered voters, who want to vote for a president by mail during the primary elections, must take an extra step in the voting process.

That extra step must be made by January 6, 2020.

KUSI’s Elizabeth Alvarez explained why on Good Morning San Diego.

She spoke with San Diego resident Tom Spencer who is frustrated by the entire process. Spencer said, “I’ve lived in San Diego since 1960 I’ve been in for 46 years and now I’ve been driven to come change my party because they won’t share of the proper information with the masses.”

He drove from the East County to the Registrar of Voter’s office in Kearny Mesa to make sure he was going to get to vote for a president this March.

Voters in California are used to seeing candidates from all parties on the same ballot but voting for president is different.

Michael Vu, San Diego County Registrar of Voters explained to us that those rules are set by the national political parties.

If you registered as “no party preference” your ballot will not include any presidential candidates unless you do the following by the end of the day:

-Request a Crossover Party Ballot to vote if you want to vote for a Democratic,Libertarian or American Independent presidential candidate.

-If you want to vote for a Republican presidential candidate or a Green or Peace and Freedom presidential coandidate, you must re-register with that political party.

The process is not just throwing off non partisan voters.

Spencer, who is a longtime registered democrat, tells us he doesn’t always vote along party lines saying, “I vote for the best of the people.”

Monday, he walked into the San Diego Registrar of Voter’s office as a long-time registered Democrat and walked out registered as a Republican.