With the 2024 US general election a little over nine weeks away, the clock is ticking for anyone looking to confirm their voter registration.
This November's election will be headlined by the presidential race, as the Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, is set to face off against the Republican candidate, former President Donald Trump. Given the effect that presidential elections are known to have on increasing voter turnout in the US, a lot more potential voters than usual are probably curious about whether they are still registered to vote where they live and where they might find that information quickly.
An increased interest in ballot issues and candidates helped the three most recent major election cycles -- the 2018 midterms, 2020 presidential race, 2022 midterms -- become some of the biggest in modern US history. The 2020 election, in particular, saw the largest turnout since 1900, according to Pew Research, with just under two-thirds of eligible voters casting ballots.
Here's how to see if you are registered to vote in this fall's election. For more on the upcoming elections, here's how AI could rock the vote and how election officials are preparing for the fall.
Where can I check my voter registration?
While you can hunt down the secretary of state website for where you live to check on your voting status, a quicker way is by visiting a nonpartisan voter website to check your registration. Note that all these sites listed below let you check on your voter status if you live in one of the 50 states or Washington, DC, but they don't include voter information if you live in one of the US territories: US citizens residing in US territories can't vote for president in the general election. Here are three nonpartisan sites you can use to check on your voter status:
Vote.org is one of the more popular sites that you can use to check your voter registration status online. Operated by a nonprofit, nonpartisan voter outreach organization, Vote.org lets you look up whether you are registered to vote, using a few simple pieces of personal information: Your first and last name, street address, date of birth, and email address. You also have the option to add your phone number to receive texts, which you can also opt out of. If you find you're not registered, you can tap the Register to Vote buttonon the main Vote.org page to sign up.
Can I Vote from the National Association of Secretaries of State is another one-stop shop for voting resources. If you select the Voter Registration Status link on the main Can I Vote page and then choose the state where you live, you'll be sent to your state official registration confirmation page to check on your voter status.
Vote411.org, funded by the League of Women Voters, also lets you check on your voter status, register if you're not signed up, and see what's on your local ballot. Similar to the NASS voter site, Vote411 allows you to check your status by directing you to your state's voter registration confirmation page. If you aren't registered, Vote411.org offers a Register to Vote link on its main page, which prompts you to enter your name, address, email and phone number, and provides information on registration options available to you. If your state offers online registration, Vote411 will provide a direct link to that official page.
When is the fall 2024 election?
The general election is held on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, but many states allow for early voting, with a few letting you cast your ballot a month and a half before election day.
How do I look out for election phishing?
As in many other aspects of modern life, elections and voter registration have become targets for phishing scams. Reports out of major swing states like Arizona, Michigan and Pennsylvania found that people were targeted by schemes that use URLs like "all-vote.com" and "votewin.org," with text messages claiming that the recipient was not registered to vote. Clicking through would prompt users to enter their personal information into a form.
In a report on election phishing, cybersecurity expert Brian Krebs suggested three "Red Flags" to look out for when you suspect such a message might be a scam: check a site like Icann Lookup to see if the URL domain was registered recently; check the site to see if it contains little actual information about who runs the supposed group; and check to see how much personal information is asked of you and if the form signs you up for more messages. All can be clear signs of a phishing scam.
For more information about the upcoming election, check out how the US election system is under attack and how officials are preparing for challenges to the process.