Essex, California Public Records

Law enforcement services for the Essex, California, community are provided by the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department (760-252-6000, 43645 Veterans Way, Yucca Valley, CA 92284). The Sheriff's Department is responsible for maintaining public safety, responding to emergencies, and investigating criminal activity within the unincorporated area of Essex. Residents can contact the department to report incidents, obtain crime statistics, or inquire about the local law enforcement presence.

Essex, California voters are served by the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters, located at 777 East Rialto Avenue, San Bernardino, CA 92415 (phone: 909-387-8300, website: https://www.sbcounty.gov/rov). This office administers all federal, state, county, and local elections for Essex residents, including voter registration, ballot distribution, polling place assignments, vote counting, and election results certification. Essex residents register to vote online through the California Secretary of State's online voter registration portal at https://registertovote.ca.gov; the registration deadline is 15 days before any election. California offers same-day conditional voter registration at vote centers and county elections offices through Election Day. Valid California driver's license or ID card number is required for online registration; voters without these may register by mail using a paper form. As an unincorporated community, Essex has no municipal elections, city council, or mayor; residents vote only in San Bernardino County, California state, and federal elections. Essex residents vote for the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors (5 districts), with Essex located in District 1; Supervisor elections are held every four years. Polling place and vote center information for Essex voters is available through the County Registrar's "Where's My Polling Place" tool at https://www.sbcounty.gov/rov/elections/polling or by calling 909-387-8300. San Bernardino County has transitioned to a Vote Center model under the California Voter's Choice Act, allowing voters to cast ballots at any vote center in the county during the early voting period (typically 10 days before Election Day) or on Election Day itself. In the November 2024 presidential election, San Bernardino County reported approximately 58% voter turnout with over 650,000 ballots cast out of approximately 1.1 million registered voters. For the November 3, 2026 general election, Essex and San Bernardino County voters will decide several critical races: California's gubernatorial election (Governor Gavin Newsom's term expires; candidates TBD), all California statewide executive offices including Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, and Insurance Commissioner; California State Senate and Assembly districts representing Essex; one of California's U.S. Senate seats (if a seat is up in 2026, though both Senators Padilla and Butler/Schiff have terms extending beyond 2026 unless a special election occurs); all U.S. House of Representatives seats including the district covering Essex (currently California's 8th Congressional District); San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors seats in districts up for election; county Sheriff, District Attorney, Assessor-Recorder-Clerk, and other constitutional officers; and any local ballot measures or special district elections. California voters may request vote-by-mail (absentee) ballots by submitting an application to the San Bernardino County Registrar online at https://www.sbcounty.gov/rov/elections/vote-by-mail, by phone at 909-387-8300, or in writing; vote-by-mail ballot applications must be received by 5:00 PM seven days before Election Day. California law allows permanent vote-by-mail status; ballots are automatically mailed for every election. Public election records available in California include voter registration files (available for purchase for political purposes under California Elections Code §2188), campaign finance disclosure reports filed with the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) at https://www.fppc.ca.gov and the County Registrar, candidate declarations and statements of qualifications, precinct-level election results and statements of vote, and ballot measure text and arguments. The County Registrar publishes detailed election results at https://www.sbcounty.gov/rov/elections/results.