✅ Get Ready to Vote

Who can vote?

In general, to vote in the U.S. you must be a U.S. citizen, meet your state's minimum age (usually 18 by Election Day), and meet your state's residency requirement. Some states restrict eligibility based on certain felony convictions, with different rules for if and when voting rights are restored. These rules vary by state — check your state's guide for specifics.

📝 Register to Vote

You can typically register in one of a few ways:

• Online — most states offer online registration through their Secretary of State or election authority website.
• By mail — using the National Mail Voter Registration Form or your state's own form.
• In person — at your local election office, DMV, or another designated state agency.

Vote.gov is the U.S. government's official starting point — it routes you to your state's specific registration option.

🔍 Check Your Registration

Most states offer a free official lookup tool to confirm you're registered and that your name, address, and party affiliation (if applicable) are current. This matters even if you've voted before — registrations can be affected by address changes, list maintenance, or long gaps between elections.

Select your state above to jump straight to your state's official lookup tool.

📅 Registration Deadlines

Every state sets its own registration deadline before Election Day — some close registration a few weeks out, others allow it as little as a week before, and some let you register right up through Election Day itself ("same-day registration"). There's no single nationwide number here, so check your state's guide for the actual deadline rather than assuming a typical range.

See Upcoming Elections for key dates, or your state's guide for its specific registration deadline.

📦 Moving or Changing Your Address

If you moved within the same state, you generally need to update your voter registration address — some states let you do this online, and some allow an address update at your polling place on Election Day. If you moved to a different state, you'll need to register fresh in your new state; your old state's registration won't carry over.

🌟 First-Time Voters

If this is your first time voting, a few things are worth knowing ahead of time:

• Some states have an extra ID requirement specifically for first-time voters who registered by mail.
• You'll want to confirm your polling place ahead of time — see Find My Polling Place.
• Consider previewing your ballot ahead of time — see What's on My Ballot?