YWCA SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN

Federal and other local elections occur in each state frequently, and participating in these elections is a great way to partake in democracy. You can keep up with the latest election dates in your state here.

Primary elections also start taking place ahead of the Presidential election. These elections determine the candidates that will represent each political party on the ballot. Learn more about your state’s primary election dates here.

On top of the primary and presidential elections, there are other local elections happening in each state. When you register, our friends at Turbo Vote can send you reminders about when elections are coming up in your state or city.

Great question. You should always make sure that your address is up-to-date! Even a move across town may require you to update your registration. Use this resource to check if you’re registered, need to update your address, and more. Oh! And if you re-register, there’s no penalty. Better safe than sorry, right?

Yep, it definitely does! There are countless elections that have been decided by only a few votes. And in 2024, Gen Z youth alone will make up over 40 million potential voters!

One vote matters. Your vote matters. And together, our votes have the collective power to decide the future of the country we want to see. Make sure you are registered to vote today! It only takes 2 minutes.

To help with barriers to voting posed by school, work, family, or other commitments many states allow early voting days ahead of Elections. Check your state’s early voting dates with Turbo Vote.

Find your polling place. Find where to vote in person early or on election day. Or, find where to return your mail ballot.

You can view your sample ballot on your local Secretary of State's or Board of Elections website. Check out your state’s specific information on how to vote and access a sample ballot here. Available ballot information may vary depending on the upcoming election.

We know that voting by mail or ballot box has gained popularity over the past few years, it allows you to flex your democracy muscles while having the freedom to vote beyond the polls. The first step? Make sure you’re registered to vote!

To help with barriers to voting posed by school, work, family, or other commitments many states allow early voting and absentee voting days ahead of Elections. Check your state’s early and absentee voting dates with Turbo Vote.

Yes! You can register to vote using a driver’s license number or another non-driver’s license ID number (for example, a state ID card). If you don’t have a driver’s license or haven’t been issued a non-driver state ID card, check your state's requirements for Voters Without ID here.

It depends on your state. In most states, YES. In all but a few states, you can pre-register to vote if you're younger than 18, as long as you’ll be 18 by Election Day. In others, you may need to be a certain age to register even if you'll be 18 by Election Day.

Check your state’s age requirement rules to see if you qualify. If you do, register now -- it just takes 2 minutes! And if you can’t vote this year, you can help your friends get registered.

Some states even let 17-year-olds vote in primary elections if they'll be 18 by the general election -- make a plan for how to vote in your state!

In some states, you can pre-register to vote when you are 16 or 17. Then on your 18th birthday, your voter registration will be automatically processed. This is a great way to ensure you don’t miss registration deadlines, but be sure to update your pre-registration if your address changes before you turn 18.

You can register to vote for your home state or the state where you go to college -- but not both!

If you’re registering to vote in the state where you attend college and you live in a dorm, you must put your physical dorm address on the form, and a PO box doesn’t count. (There’s a separate section on the form for you to include your mailing address, in case that’s different from your dorm address.)

If you’re registering to vote in your home state, be prepared to travel home to cast your ballot or mail in an absentee ballot. Learn more about early and absentee voting with Turbo Vote.

Many local election offices have student poll worker programs so if you want to help staff your local polling place and play an important role in the democratic process, you can start with Power the Polls.