Your vote matters

Voting is one of the most powerful ways to shape the world around you. Use our voting hub to register to vote, confirm your registration status, find your polling location, pre-register to vote if you’re in high school, and request an absentee ballot if you’re eligible.

Verify Your Registration
Pledge to Vote (Get Election Reminders)
Register to Vote
Future Voters Pre-Register Here*
Locate Your Polling Location
Request a Mail-In Ballot

*If you are a teen using our Future Voters tool to pre-register to vote, you must be at least 13 years old. Once you enter your information, the pre-registration tool will walk you through your state’s process for pre-registration if you are eligible.

Find your state’s voter toolkit here!

Get My Toolkit

Got more questions? We’ve got answers!

Registering to vote

  • Go to our Voting Hub and click on Register to Vote. It routes you to your state's official voter registration page, and most people can register in about 90 seconds. (Some states make it harder, but we’re here to help you if that’s the case. And if you don’t find the info you need, email us at info@donuts-democracy.org and we’ll do our best to help.)

  • Go to our Voting Hub and click on Check Registration. This is good to do even if you're sure you're registered. (Some states drop voters off the voter rolls without telling you.) Thirty seconds ensures your vote and voice are heard.

  • Pre-registration allows young people to register to vote before they’re 18. This means that when you turn 18, you are already registered and can vote! (It’s kind of like being on a waitlist for a party.)

  • It varies by state, but it’s super easy to do. Just go to our Voting Hub and click Pre-Register to Vote.

  • Good news – we have a new program that allows anyone who is at least 13 years old to sign up to get an email and text notification the minute you are eligible to pre-register. Go to our Voting Hub and click Future voters.

  • It varies a lot. For some states, the deadline is 30 days before an election, but about 20 let you register same-day at the polls even if you missed the deadline. Best thing to do is register now while you're already here. Go to our Voting Hub and click on Register to Vote.

  • Probably. Requirements vary by state. Some states allow a student ID, others require a state ID, drivers license or proof of residency (a bill, a government check). Go to our Voting Hub and click on Voter ID requirements.

  • Probably not at your new address. Registration doesn't follow you when you move, and that's the number one way young people fall off the voter rolls. It’s annoying, but it’s easy to fix in most states. Go to our Voting Hub and click on Check Your Registration and follow the instructions to change your address (if it’s in the same state). If you’re not registered to vote or have moved to another state, click on Register to Vote. New address, new registration, 90 seconds, and you're set again.

  • A voter purge is when a state removes names from its voter rolls (i.e. list of registered voters). Sometimes it's routine upkeep, sometimes it isn't, and you won't know which unless you check. Getting turned away at the polls almost always traces back to a registration problem nobody flagged in time. A 30-second check means it won't be you. Go to our Voting Hub and click on Check Your Registration.

Voting

  • You choose: register at your campus address or vote absentee from your home state. One person, one vote, you decide where. (A few states have tried to make dorm-address registration harder which tells you exactly how much your campus vote is worth.) Go register at our Voting Hub today!

  • Request a mail ballot through your state's election site. Most states allow it, a few ask for a reason, and deadlines vary. Request it early, the only thing between you and a counted vote is a form you can knock out in one sitting. Go to our Voting Hub and click on Request a Mail-in-Ballot.

  • Local races, school boards, DAs, state legislators, ballot measures, the decisions that shape your rent, your roads, and your rights, often by a few hundred votes. Make sure to fill out the whole ballot. The bottom of the ballot gets the least attention and has a lot of say over your daily life.

  • Yes! Some elections are decided by one vote. That’s powerful which is why some people are trying so hard to convince you not to vote or make it hard for you to vote. And here’s the thing, when you don’t vote, someone else is deciding your future. There are 53 million eligible young voters – if all of you voted, it would change the world. Literally.

  • In most states, yes. Voting rights are typically restored once you've completed your sentence, and in some states you never lose them at all. The rules vary widely, and the confusion around them keeps a lot of people from voting who absolutely can. Check your state's rules on the Secretary of State website through Voting Hub.

Other Questions

  • When young people vote, they build political power. And when you have political power, elected leaders work for you. When you don't, they work for whoever did vote.

    Not only that, older folks vote consistently, election after election. That means, they're making choices for everyone who didn’t vote. If you don’t want another generation deciding your future, get registered and vote. Then help your friends and family do the same.

  • It's real, and it's often done quietly on purpose. Voter roll purges, closed campus polling places, registration requirements that change quietly between elections. It lands hardest on Black and Brown communities, students, and young people. One of the best ways to fight back is to get registered and vote. And then help others do the same.

  • Start with a sample ballot. Tools like BallotReady, Vote411, and Ballotpedia show you exactly who and what you'll be voting on at your address, with positions, records, and endorsements side by side. Twenty minutes with your actual ballot beats two hundred hours of national news because the people deciding your rent and your roads are at the bottom of it, not on cable.

  • Politics can feel like walking into a movie three hours late. Start small and local: your city council, school board, and state legislature decide more of your daily life than anything trending. Pick the one or two issues you already care about, then look at who's on your ballot and where they stand. That's it. That's being informed. The "you must know everything to participate" feeling is a lie with great marketing. Nobody knows everything including the loudest guy in your group chat.