Wendel, California Public Records

Law enforcement in Wendel falls under the jurisdiction of the Lassen County Sheriff's Office, which is responsible for maintaining public safety and responding to any criminal incidents within the city. The sheriff's office is headquartered at 1415 Sheriff Ct, Susanville, CA 96130.

Election administration for Wendel, California voters is handled by the Lassen County Clerk and Registrar of Voters, located at 220 S. Lassen Street, Suite 5, Susanville, CA 96130, phone (530) 251-8217, website https://www.lassencounty.org/dept/county-clerk-recorder/elections. This office manages all aspects of voter registration, ballot preparation, polling places, vote counting, and election results certification for Wendel and all of Lassen County. Wendel residents can register to vote online through the California Secretary of State's website at https://registertovote.ca.gov/, which allows new registrations and updates to existing registrations up to 15 days before any election; California also offers conditional voter registration allowing registration and voting up through Election Day at designated locations. Voter registration requires providing a California driver's license or identification card number, or the last four digits of a Social Security number, plus date of birth and residence address. As an unincorporated community, Wendel has no municipal government and therefore no city council, mayoral, or local municipal elections; Wendel voters participate in Lassen County elections for the Board of Supervisors (five districts, four-year staggered terms), countywide offices such as Sheriff, District Attorney, Assessor, Auditor-Controller, Clerk-Recorder, and Treasurer-Tax Collector, as well as state and federal races. Wendel residents can find their assigned polling place by visiting the California Secretary of State's polling place lookup tool at https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/polling-place or by contacting the Lassen County Elections Office. California is a vote-by-mail state where all registered voters automatically receive mail ballots for every election, though in-person voting remains available at polling locations and vote centers. In the November 2024 presidential election, Lassen County reported approximately 55-60% voter turnout with roughly 7,500 to 8,000 ballots cast out of approximately 13,000 registered voters, reflecting the county's conservative-leaning electorate in a rural area. On November 3, 2026, Wendel and Lassen County voters will decide several significant races: one of California's U.S. Senate seats (Class III, currently held by a senator whose term expires in January 2027), all of California's 52 U.S. House seats including the district encompassing Lassen County (currently California's 1st Congressional District), California's constitutional offices including Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, and other statewide positions, all 80 seats in the California State Assembly, 20 of the 40 seats in the California State Senate, and various Lassen County offices and local ballot measures that may be on the ballot. Specific local races and measures for 2026 will be determined as candidate filing periods close in 2026. California election records that are public include voter registration lists (available for purchase for political purposes under California Elections Code Section 2188), campaign finance disclosure reports filed by candidates and committees (searchable at http://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/), candidate statements and declarations of candidacy, and precinct-level election results showing vote totals by geographic area. Individual voter history (whether a person voted, though not how they voted) is also public record. To request a vote-by-mail ballot in California, registered voters in Wendel can simply wait for the automatic mailing approximately 29 days before each election, or can request a replacement or additional ballot by contacting the Lassen County Elections Office by phone, mail, email, or through the county elections website. California law allows any registered voter to vote by mail without providing a reason.