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Map of the District of Columbia, states, and territories in the United States that require voter registration to vote:

  Voter registration required for federal and state elections

  No voter registration required for federal or state elections, except some local city elections require voter registration

A group of African American children gather around a sign and booth to register voters. Early 1960s.

Voter registration in the United States is the voter registration that is required for voting in federal, state and local elections in the United States. The only exception is North Dakota, which does not require registration, although North Dakota law allows cities to register voters for city elections.^[1][2] Voter registration takes place at the county level in many states and at the municipal level in several states. Most states set cutoff dates for voter registration, ranging from 2 to 4 weeks before an election; while a third of states have Election Day or "same-day" voter registration which enables eligible citizens to register or update their registration when they vote before or on Election Day.

It has been argued that some registration requirements deter some people (especially disadvantaged people) from registering and therefore exercising their right to vote, resulting in a lower voter turnout. According to a 2012 study, 24% of the voting-eligible population in the United States are not registered to vote, equaling some 51 million U.S. citizens. While voters traditionally had to register at government offices by a certain period of time before an election, in the mid-1990s, the federal government made efforts to facilitate registering, in an attempt to increase turnout. The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (the "Motor Voter" law) now requires state governments to either provide uniform opt-in registration services through drivers' license registration centers, disability centers, schools, libraries, and mail-in registration, or to allow Election Day voter registration, where voters can register at polling places immediately prior to voting. In 2016, Oregon became the first state to make voter registration fully automatic (opt-out) when issuing driver licenses and ID cards, since followed by four more states. Political parties and other organizations sometimes hold "voter registration drives", that is, events to register new voters.

In most states, persons registering to vote may at the same time declare an affiliation with a political party.^[3]

Federal jurisdiction

While the United States Congress has jurisdiction over laws applying to federal elections, it has deferred the making of most aspects of election laws to the states. The United States Constitution prohibits states from restricting voting rights in ways that infringe on a person's right to equal protection under the law (14th Amendment), on the basis of race (15th Amendment), on the basis of sex (19th Amendment), on the basis of having failed to pay a poll tax or any tax (24th Amendment), or on the basis of age for persons age 18 and older (26th Amendment). The administration of elections, however, vary widely across jurisdictions.

Only US citizens have the right to vote in federal elections.^[4] In a few cases, permanent residents ("green card" holders) have registered to vote and have cast ballots without realizing that doing so was illegal. Non-citizens convicted in criminal court of having made a false claim of citizenship for the purpose of registering to vote in a federal election can be fined and imprisoned for up to a year. Deportation and removal proceedings have resulted from several such cases.^[5] Some states prohibit convicted felons from voting, a practice known as felony disenfranchisement. Of these states, some prohibit voting only during parole or probation but allow voting after. A small number of states may require repeat offenders to have their voting rights restored through court action.^[6]

Effect on participation

A 2012 study by The Pew Charitable Trusts estimates that 24% of the voting-eligible population in the United States are not registered to vote, a percentage that represents "at least 51 million eligible U.S. citizens."^[7][8] The study suggests that registration requirements contribute to discouraging people from exercising their right to vote, thereby causing a lower voter turnout. The extent of discouragement and its effect on increasing the socioeconomic bias of the electorate however remain contested.

In a 1980 landmark study, Raymond E. Wolfinger and Steven J. Rosenstone came to the conclusion that less restrictive registration requirements would substantially increase the electoral turnout. According to their probit analysis, if all states adopted the procedures of the most permissive state regulations, which would mean:

1. eliminating the closing date


2. opening registration offices during the forty-hour work week


3. opening registration offices in the evening or on Saturday


4. permitting absentee registration for the sick, disabled and absent

(p 73) turnout in the 1972 presidential election would have been 9.1% higher, with 12.2 million additional people having voted.^[9] In a seminal 1988 book, sociologists Richard Cloward and Francis Fox Piven argued that lowering registration requirements would improve socioeconomic equality in the composition of the electorate.^[10]

Findings such as this have inspired lawmakers to facilitate the registration process, eventually leading to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (or "Motor Voter" act) that required states to allow voter registration at various public offices, including drivers' license registration centers, disability centers, schools, libraries, as well as mail-in registration, unless a state adopts Election Day voter registration. The way towards passing this piece of federal legislation was however lengthy and rocky, as these reforms were highly contested. In an expanded 1990 edition of their 1988 book, titled "Why Americans still don't vote: and why politicians want it that way," Cloward and Piven argued that the reforms were expected to encourage less-privileged groups which happen to lean towards the Democratic Party.^[11]

While the turnout at federal elections did substantially increase following the electoral reforms, the effect fell short of Wolfinger and Rosenstone's expectations while Cloward's and Piven's hope of improving the demographic representativeness of
the electorate wasn't fulfilled at all. Political scientist Adam Berinsky concluded in a 2005 article that the reforms designed to make voting "easier" in their entirety had an opposite effect, actually increasing the preexisting socioeconomic biases by ensuring "that those citizens who are most engaged with the political world – those with politically relevant resources – continue to participate, whereas those individuals without such resources fall by the wayside."^[12] As Berinsky reaffirms in a 2016 piece, the only way to increase turnout while improving representativeness is making more people become interested in politics.^[13]

Forms of facilitation

Registration centers

Traditionally, voters have had to register at government offices to vote, but in 1993 Congress passed the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, also known as the "Motor Voter" law, which came into effect on January 1, 1995, to make registering easier, in an attempt to increase turnout. The law requires state governments to provide opt-in registration services through drivers' license registration centers, disability centers, schools, libraries, and mail-in registration, though the States which since March 11, 1993, have not required voter registration for federal elections or had same-day voter registration on Election Day were exempt from the Act. Six states qualify for the exemption: North Dakota (which does not have registration), Idaho, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Online

Map of the District of Columbia, states, and territories in the United States that allow online voter registration:

  Online voter registration available^[a]

  Online voter registration to be implemented

  No online voter registration available

As of December 6, 2017, 37 states and the District of Columbia offer online registration, along with one other state (Oklahoma) that has passed legislation to create online voter registration systems, but not yet implemented it.^[14]

Federal district or state	Date online voter registration implemented	Website
Alabama	2016/12/01[15]	Alabama Votes
Alaska	2015/11/?[16]	Alaska Online Voter Registration
Arizona	2002/07/?[17]	EZ Voter Registration
California	2012/09/19[18]	California Online Voter Registration
Colorado	2010/04/01[19]	Go Vote Colorado
Connecticut	2014/01/01[20]	Connecticut Online Voter Registration
Delaware	2014/04/?[14]	I Vote Delaware
District of Columbia	2015/??/?[16]	District of Columbia Online Voter Registration
Florida	2017/10/01[14]	Register to Vote Florida Voter Registration
Georgia	2014/03/?[16]	Georgia Online Voter Registration
Hawaii	2015/08/04[21]	Hawaii Online Voter Registration
Idaho	2017/12/06[22]	Idaho Votes
Illinois	2014/06/17[23]	Illinois Online Voter Registration
Indiana	2010/07/01[24]	Indiana Online Voter Registration
Iowa	2016/01/04[25]	Iowa Online Voter Registration
Kansas	2009/05/?[16]	Kansas Online Voter Registration
Kentucky	2016/03/01[26]	Kentucky Online Voter Registration
Louisiana	2010/04/?[16]	Geaux Vote
Maryland	2012/07/01[27]	Maryland Online Voter Registration
Massachusetts	2015/06/23[28]	Massachusetts Online Voter Registration
Minnesota	2013/09/26[29]	MN Votes
Missouri[b]	2014/??/?[14]	Vote Missouri
Nebraska	2015/09/22[30]	Nebraska Online Voter Registration
Nevada	2012/09/?[16]	Nevada Online Voter Registration
New Mexico	2016/01/01[31]	New Mexico Online Voter Registration
New York	2011/??/?[14]	New York Electronic Voter Registration
Ohio	2017/01/01[32]	Ohio Online Voter Registration
Oklahoma	2020/??/?[33]	Not implemented yet[33]
Oregon	2010/03/01[34]	OreStar
Pennsylvania	2015/08/27[35]	PA Online Voter Registration
Rhode Island	2016/08/01[36]	RI Online Voter Registration
South Carolina	2012/10/02[37]	S.C. Online Voter Registration
Tennessee	2017/08/29[38]	GoVote TN Voter Registration
Utah	2010/06/?[16]	Utah Online Voter Registration
Vermont	2015/10/12[39]	Vermont Online Voter Registration
Virginia	2013/07/23[40]	Virginia Voter Registration
Washington	2008/01/?[16]	MyVote
West Virginia	2015/09/?[16]	West Virginia Online Voter Registration
Wisconsin	2017/01/09[41]	My Vote Wisconsin

Automatic

Map of the District of Columbia, states, and territories in the United States that allow automatic voter registration:

  Automatic voter registration available

  Automatic voter registration to be implemented

  No automatic voter registration available

As of October 9, 2018, 8 states and the District of Columbia provide automatic registration when citizens interact with state agencies such as the DMV, along with 4 other states that has passed legislation to create automatic registration systems, but not yet implemented it.^[42] Those interacting with the state agencies have the option to opt-out of registering.

From January 1, 2016, Oregon implemented the Motor Voter Act, a fully automatic (opt-out) voter registration system tied into the process of issuing driver licenses and ID cards.^[43] By April 2016 three more states – California, West Virginia, and Vermont – had followed suit, and in May 2016 Connecticut announced plans to implement it administratively rather than by legislation, bringing the number of states with automatic voter registration policies to five.^[44][45] Alaskan voters approved Measure 1 during the November 8, 2016, general election, allowing residents the ability to register to vote when applying annually for the state's Permanent Dividend Fund.^[46][47] Voter approval of Measure 1 made Alaska the first state to implement automatic (opt-in) voter registration via ballot initiative and the sixth state to implement automatic registration by any means including passing legislation. Several more states have considered legislation for automatic registration.^[48] On August 28, 2017, Governor Bruce Rauner signed Illinois SB1933, which sets implementation of automatic voter registration at motor vehicle agencies for July 1, 2018, and a year later at other state agencies.^[49]

Federal district or state	Automatic voter registration implemented
Alaska	2017/03/01[50]
California	2017/04/?[42]
Colorado	2017/02/?[42]
District of Columbia	2018/06/26[51]
Georgia	2016/09/?[42]
Illinois	2018/07/02[52]
Maryland	2019/07/1[42]
New Jersey	2018/11/?[42]
Oregon	2016/01/01[53]
Rhode Island	2018/06/?[42]
Vermont	2017/01/?[42]
Washington	2019/07/?[42]
West Virginia	2019/07/?[42]
Massachusetts	2020/01[42]

Election Day / same-day

Map of the District of Columbia, states, and territories in the United States that allow same-day voter registration:

  Same-day and early voting period voter registration available

  Same-day voter registration available^[a]

  Early voting period voter registration available

  Same-day and early voting period voter registration not implemented yet

  No same-day and early voting period voter registration available

The majority of states require voters to register two to four weeks before an election, with cutoff dates varying from 30 to 15 days.

Some states allow Election Day voter registration (also known as EDR) which enables eligible citizens to register to vote or update their registration when they arrive to vote. Some states call the procedure same-day registration (SDR) because voters can register and vote during an earlier voting period before Election Day.

EDR allows eligible citizens to register or update their registration at the polls or their local election office by showing valid identification to a poll worker or election official, who checks the identification, consults the registration list and, if they are not registered or the registration is out of date, registers them on the spot.

As of March 27, 2018, 17 states and the District of Columbia offer same day voter registration, which allows any qualified resident of the state to go to register to vote and cast a ballot all in that day. Additionally, 1 state (Washington) has enacted same day vote registration, which has yet to be implemented.^[54] Also, 9 states have voter registration possible for a portion of their early voting periods.

Five states are exempt from the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 because they have continuously since 1993 had EDR: Idaho, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Maine lost the exemption when it abolished EDR in 2011, though it was subsequently restored. North Dakota is also exempt because it does not have a registration requirement. In June 2011, Maine abolished EDR, which had been in place since 1973, and abolished absentee voting during the two business days before an election.^[55] However, the stipulation banning EDR was overturned in a November 2011 citizen referendum ("people's veto") titled Question 1,^[56] when Maine voters reinstated EDR with 59% in favor.^[57]

Voter turnout is much higher in states using EDR than in states that do not. A 2013 report analyzing turnout in the 2012 United States presidential election, had SDR states averaging at a turnout of 71%, well above the average voter turn-out rate of 59% for non-SDR states.^[58] According to official turnout data report in the 2014 edition of America Goes to the Polls,^[59] voter turnout in EDR states has averaged 10–14 percent higher than states that lack that option.^[60] Research suggests that EDR increases turnout between three and fourteen percentage points.^{[61][62][63][64][65]} A 2004 study summarizes the impact of EDR on voter turnout as "about five percentage points".^[66]

Federal district or state	Same day voting registration implemented	Early voting period registration implemented
California	????/??/?[54]	????/??/?[54]
Colorado	????/??/?[54]	????/??/?[54]
Connecticut	????/??/?[54]	N/A[54]
District of Columbia	????/??/?[54]	N/A[54]
Hawaii	????/??/?[54]	????/??/?[54]
Idaho	????/??/?[54]	N/A[54]
Illinois	????/??/?[b][54]	N/A[54]
Iowa	????/??/?[54]	????/??/?[54]
Maine	????/??/?[54]	N/A[54]
Maryland	N/A[54]	????/??/?[54]
Minnesota	????/??/?[54]	N/A[54]
Montana	????/??/?[54]	N/A[54]
New Hampshire	????/??/?[54]	N/A[54]
North Carolina	N/A[54]	????/??/?[54]
Utah	????/??/?[54]	????/??/?[54]
Vermont	????/??/?[54]	????/??/?[54]
Washington	2019/??/?[54]	2019/??/?[54]
Wisconsin	????/??/?[54]	N/A[54]
Wyoming	????/??/?[54]	N/A[54]

Permanent & portable

Map of the District of Columbia, states, and territories in the United States that allow permanent & portable voter registration:

  Permanent & portable voter registration available for registered voter

  Permanent & portable voter registration available for registered voters who move to a precinct that has an electronic poll book or are an active military member

  Provisional ballots available for registered voters who move

  No permanent & portable registration available

As of 2014, Delaware, Hawaii, Oregon, and Texas allow registered voters who have moved within the state to update their registrations when they vote, and are given a regular ballots when they vote. Florida requires any registered voter who moved to another county and another voting precinct to vote only by a provisional ballot, except if "the precinct to which you have moved has an electronic poll book or you are an active military member", in which case the voter would be giving a regular ballot when they vote. As of 2014, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Ohio, and Utah allow registered voters who have moved within the state or the District of Columbia to vote in their new county without re-registering at their new address, but they can only vote a provisional ballot, which could require further action from the voter before it is counted.^[67][68]

Preregistration

Map of the District of Columbia, states, and territories in the United States that allow preregistration prior to turning the voting age:

  Preregistration after turning the age of 16 years old

  Preregistration after turning the age of 17 years old

  Preregistration prior to turning 18 years old

  No preregistration; can only vote after turning 18 years old

  Unknown

Federal district of state	Preregistration requirements
Alabama	18 years old by the election date[69]
Alaska	Within 90 days preceding 18th birthday[69]
Arizona	18 years old by the election date[69]
Arkansas	18 years old by the election date[69]
California	16-year-olds may preregister[69]
Colorado	16-year-olds may preregister[69]
Connecticut	18 years old by the election date[69]
Delaware	16-year-olds may preregister[69]
District of Columbia	16-year-olds may preregister[69]
Florida	16-year-olds may preregister[69]
Georgia	17.5-year-olds may preregister[69]
Hawaii	16-year-olds may preregister, and 17-year-olds may register but not vote[69]
Idaho	18 years old by the election date[69]
Illinois	18 years old by the election date[69]
Indiana	18 years old by the election date[69]
Iowa	17.5-year-olds may preregister[69]
Kansas	18 years old by the election date[69]
Kentucky	18 years old by the election date[69]
Louisiana	16-year-olds may preregister[69]
Maine	17-year-olds may preregister[69]
Maryland	16-year-olds may preregister[69]
Massachusetts	16-year-olds may preregister[69]
Michigan	18 years old by the election date[69]
Minnesota	18 years old by the election date[69]
Mississippi	18 years old by the election date[69]
Missouri	17.5-year-olds may preregister[69]
Montana	18 years old by the election date[69]
Nebraska	18 years old by the election date[69]
Nevada	17-year-olds may preregister[69]
New Hampshire	18 years old by the election date[69]
New Jersey	17-year-olds may preregister[69]
New Mexico	18 years old by the election date[69]
New York	18 years old by the election date[69]
North Carolina	16-year-olds may preregister[69]
Ohio	18-year-olds by the election date[69]
Oklahoma	18 years old by the election date[69]
Oregon	16-year-olds may preregister[69]
Pennsylvania	18 years old by the election date[69]
Rhode Island	16-year-olds may preregister, and 17-year-olds may register if they will be 18 years old by the election[69]
South Carolina	18 years old by the election date[69]
South Dakota	18 years old by the election date[69]
Tennessee	18 years old by the election date[69]
Texas	Individuals 17 years and 10 months old may register
Utah	16-year-olds may preregister[69]
Vermont	18 years old by the election date[69]
Virginia	18 years old by the election date[69]
Washington	18 years old by the election date[69]
West Virginia	17-year-olds may preregister[69]
Wisconsin	18 years old by the election date[69]
Wyoming	18 years old by the election date[69]

Drives

An October 2008 voter registration rally held on behalf of Barack Obama's presidential campaign, on Philadelphia's Benjamin Franklin Parkway

A voter registration drive is an effort undertaken by government authorities as well as political parties and other entities to register to vote all persons otherwise entitled to vote. In many countries the functions of electoral authorities includes endeavours to get as many people to register to vote as possible. In most jurisdictions, registration on the electoral roll is a prerequisite to a person being able to vote at elections.

In the United States, such drives are often undertaken by a political campaign, political party, or other outside groups (partisan and non-partisan), that seeks to register persons who are eligible to vote but are not registered. In all states except North Dakota, registration on the electoral roll in the United States is a prerequisite to a person being able to vote at federal, state or local elections, as well as to serve on juries and perform other civil duties. Sometimes these drives are undertaken for partisan purposes, and target specific demographic groups that are likely to vote for one candidate or other; on the other hand, such drives are sometimes undertaken by non-partisan groups and targeted more generally.

In 2004, the Nu Mu Lambda chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity held a voter registration drive in DeKalb County, Georgia, from which Georgia Secretary of State Cathy Cox (Dem.) rejected all 63 voter registration applications on the basis that the fraternity did not follow correct procedures, including obtaining specific pre-clearance from the state to conduct their drive. Nu Mu Lambda filed Charles H. Wesley Education Foundation v. Cathy Cox (Wesley v. Cox) on the basis that the Georgia's long-standing policy and practice of rejecting mail-in voter registration applications that were submitted in bundles, by persons other than registrars, deputy registrars, or "authorized persons", violated the requirements of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 by undermining voter registration drives. A senior U.S. District Judge upheld earlier federal court decisions in the case, which also found private entities have a right, under the federal law, to engage in organized voter registration activity in Georgia at times and locations of their choosing, without the presence or permission of state or local election officials.^[70]

Notable national organizations that regularly work to register voters and promote citizens' engagement in elections include:

• Advancement Project


• Close Up Foundation


• Democrats Abroad


• HeadCount


• League of Women Voters


• Let America Vote


• National Association for the Advancement of Colored People


• Nonprofit VOTE


• Our Time


• Rock the Vote


• Southern Regional Council


• Southwest Voter Registration Education Project


• Student Association for Voter Empowerment


• The Voter Participation Center


• U.S. Vote Foundation


• United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce


• Vote.org


• Voto Latino

Party affiliation

Deadline to re-register with a political party for a partisan primary election

Federal district of state	Deadline to re-register with a political party for a partisan primary election	Deadline to re-register with a political party for the 2018 United States partisan primary elections
Colorado	29th day prior to the partisan primary election[71]	2018/05/29[71]
Connecticut	3 months prior to the partisan primary election[72]	2018/05/14[73]
Delaware	The last Saturday in May of the year of the partisan primary election	2018/05/25[74]
District of Columbia	21st day prior to the partisan primary election[75]	2018/05/29[75]
Idaho	10th Friday prior to the partisan primary election[76][a]	2018/03/09[77]
Kansas	14th day prior to the partisan primary election[78][b]	2018/06/01[79]
Kentucky	December 31 of the year prior to the partisan primary election[80]	2017/12/31[80]
Maine	15th day prior to the partisan primary election[78][c]	2018/05/25[81]
New Hampshire	1st Tuesday of June of the year of the partisan primary election[82][d]	2018/06/05[83]
New Jersey	15th day prior to the partisan primary election[78][e]	2018/04/11[84]
New York	25th day before the general election of the year prior to the partisan primary election[85]	2017/10/13[86]
Rhode Island	90th day prior to the partisan primary election[87]	2018/06/14[88]
Wyoming	14th day prior to the partisan primary election[89]	2018/08/07[89]

See also

• Voter ID laws in the United States

References