Mental Floss

How to Find Out If You’re Registered to Vote

Don’t wait until the day of the election.

By Ellen Gutoskey|
Registering to vote is quick and easy.
Registering to vote is quick and easy. | Ariel Skelley/GettyImages

If you’ve recently moved or changed your name (or just haven’t voted in a while), you probably need to re-register to vote. And, because general elections usually happen only once a year, it’s understandable if you’re not totally clear on your voter status or if you remembered to update your registration after your last big life event.

Even if you’re pretty sure you have, there’s no harm in taking a minute to double-check—especially since the voter registration rules and deadlines vary by state, and some states may have dropped you from their records if you haven’t shown up to the polls in a few years.

Below are three organizations whose websites will give you the answer about as quickly as you can say “Happy National Voter Registration Day!”

  1. Vote.org
  2. National Association of Secretaries of State
  3. Rock the Vote

Vote.org

Enter your first and last name, address, email address, and date of birth, and you’ll get a straightforward yes-or-no answer about your voter status.

Check your registration status here.

National Association of Secretaries of State

Choose your state from the dropdown menu, and this website will redirect you to your state’s specific voter status look-up page. Different states ask for different personal information, but you’ll likely have to submit at least your first name, last name, and date of birth. California, for example, also asks for your driver’s license or ID card number and the last four digits of your social security number. New York, in addition to name and birthday, needs to know your county and zip code.

Check your registration status here.

Rock the Vote

Rock the Vote needs your first and last name, address, email address, and date of birth. If you are registered to vote, it’ll give you the option to click through to another page with important election information in your state, like registration deadline, election dates, and more. If you aren’t registered to vote, you have two options: Click the link to a voter registration page, or click the link to double-check your voter status on your state’s website.

Check your registration status here.

Read More About Elections:

A version of this story originally ran in 2019; it has been updated for 2024.

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