Wasco, California Public Records

The Wasco Police Department, in conjunction with the Kern County Sheriff's Office, plays a vital role in maintaining public safety and order within the city. Residents and visitors can access the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's Inmate Locator at https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/ciris/ to search for information on individuals who may be incarcerated. The California Department of Justice's Missing Persons and Most Wanted resources, available at https://oag.ca.gov/missing and https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/losangeles/wanted, also provide important information to the Wasco community.

Wasco voters are served by the Kern County Elections Division (officially the Registrar of Voters Office), located at 1115 Truxtun Avenue, 1st Floor, Bakersfield, CA 93301, phone (661) 868-3590, website www.kernvote.com. This office administers all federal, state, county, and municipal elections for Wasco and the entire county. California residents can register to vote online at https://registertovote.ca.gov, the official California Secretary of State voter registration portal. Voters must register or update their registration at least 15 days before Election Day, though California offers conditional voter registration allowing eligible citizens to register and vote provisionally during the 14-day period before and including Election Day at the County Elections Office or any vote center. Registration requires California residency, U.S. citizenship, age 18 or older by Election Day, and not currently imprisoned or on parole for a felony conviction. As an incorporated city, Wasco holds municipal elections for City Council and Mayor. Wasco City Council members serve four-year staggered terms, with elections typically held in November of even-numbered years to coincide with statewide general elections. The next Wasco municipal elections are scheduled for November 2024 and November 2026. The Mayor is selected by the City Council from among its members rather than elected directly citywide. Wasco residents can find candidate statements, local ballot measures, and municipal election information through the Kern County Elections website and the City of Wasco website at www.cityofwasco.com. California became a vote-by-mail state in 2020—all registered voters automatically receive mail ballots for every election. Voters may return mail ballots by postage-paid mail (postmarked by Election Day), drop them at official drop boxes located throughout the county including in Wasco, or vote in person at vote centers during the early voting period or on Election Day. Wasco residents can look up their specific polling location or nearest vote center at https://www.kernvote.com/Voter-Information/Polling-Place-Search. In the November 2024 presidential election, Kern County reported approximately 252,000 registered voters with turnout around 62-65%, or roughly 155,000-165,000 ballots cast countywide. Wasco's approximately 10,000 registered voters contributed several thousand ballots to that total. On November 3, 2026 (the next major election), Wasco and Kern County voters will decide several important races. California holds gubernatorial elections in midterm years, so the 2026 ballot will include the Governor's race as incumbent Gavin Newsom is term-limited. All 80 California State Assembly seats and 20 of the 40 California State Senate seats will be on the ballot, including State Assembly District 32 which includes Wasco. California's U.S. Senator seat held by Alex Padilla will be up for election in 2026, as will all 52 of California's U.S. House seats including the 20th and 21st Congressional Districts which cover Kern County. County-level races will include Kern County Supervisor Districts (one or two typically up each cycle), District Attorney, Sheriff-Coroner, Assessor-Recorder, and other constitutional officers. Wasco City Council seats will be decided in 2026 as part of the regular rotation. Public election records accessible under California law include voter registration information (names and addresses but not birth dates or driver's license numbers), precinct-level election results published after each election at www.kernvote.com/Elections/Prior-Elections, and campaign finance disclosure reports filed by candidates and ballot measure committees searchable at the Kern County Elections website and the California Secretary of State's Cal-Access database at http://cal-access.sos.ca.gov. Sample ballots are mailed to all registered voters approximately 3-4 weeks before each election.