Know before you vote
Register, check your status, find your polling place, and vote by mail through your state's official links. Then follow the policies, money, courts, and disasters your ballot doesn't tell you about, free in the Civic Forecast app.
Before you vote
Five things worth checking every election, in the order they usually come up. Each one has an official answer below.
- Check your registration: Moved, changed your name, or not sure you're registered? Look yourself up with your state's official tool and fix anything that's out of date before the deadline your state sets.
- Decide how you'll vote: Election Day at your precinct, early in person, or by mail. Each has its own request windows and rules, and the state election office sets all of them.
- Know what ID to bring: Accepted ID differs by state and by how you vote. The official list is short and worth reading once.
- Find your polling place: Precincts and early-voting sites move. Confirm yours through the official lookup, not an old mailer or a search result.
- Preview your ballot: Sample ballots come from your county election office. Reading one ahead of time is the fastest way to find the races and measures you haven't heard about.
Official election information
Registration deadlines, early voting, ID rules, and vote-by-mail rules are set by your state and can change. These links go to the state's own election office, which is always the authority. Civic Forecast is not.
Florida: Florida Division of Elections
- Election dates
- Register or update your registration
- Check your registration status
- Vote by mail
- Early voting
- Election Day voting and ID
- Your county Supervisor of Elections
North Carolina: NC State Board of Elections
- Upcoming election and dates
- Register or update your registration
- Check your registration status
- Vote by mail
- Early voting sites
- Voter ID
- Find your polling place
- Election Day voting
- Your county Board of Elections
Washington: Washington Secretary of State
- Current election information
- Register or update your registration
- Check your registration and track your ballot
- Voting by mail
- Drop boxes and voting centers
- Who can register
- Your county elections office
Arkansas: Arkansas Secretary of State
- Voter information and dates
- Register or update your registration
- Check your registration status
- Absentee voting
- Early voting, ID, and Election Day
- Registration questions answered
- Your county clerk (PDF)
New York: New York State Board of Elections
- Ways to vote in New York
- Check your registration and find your poll site
- Early voting
- Request an early mail or absentee ballot
- Registration and voting deadlines
- Your county Board of Elections
Ohio: Ohio Secretary of State
Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Department of State
- Upcoming elections and dates
- Register or update your registration
- Check your registration status
- Mail-in and absentee ballots
- Returning your ballot
- Find your polling place
- Your county election office
Vermont: Vermont Secretary of State
- Election information and dates
- Register, update, or check your registration
- Who can register, and how
- Early and absentee voting
- Accessible voting
- Your town clerk
In another state? Your state or county election office is the authority there too. Search for it by name, and treat anything else as unofficial.
Your ballot is only part of the story
Civic Forecast follows what happens between elections (free, nonpartisan, and source-attributed) so the next ballot makes sense before it arrives.
- Races, representation, ballot measures, and voting deadlines
- PAC money, lobbying, public spending, and influence trails
- Courts, rights, consumer protection, and technology policy
- Disaster declarations, recovery dollars, infrastructure, and resilience
- Inflation, jobs, wages, and the economy through a civic lens
One tap opens the App Store on iPhone and Google Play on Android. The app is free and every civic signal in it is free to view.
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Civic Forecast is an independent, nonpartisan civic information service. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any government agency, political party, candidate, committee, or campaign. Election information can change, so verify details with your state or county election office.