Make voting part of your Stanford service journey. #StanfordVotes

It’s easy to register to vote online in California (registertovote.ca.gov), through the official U.S. government portal (vote.gov), or through StudentVote.org (powered by Rock the Vote). Most states allow online registration (and checking registration status) or by mail through the National Mail Voter Registration form. Check out lots more information at StanfordVotes.org.

• Have questions about the state where you are eligible to register? Check this advice for college students.
• Do you turn 18 as of Election Day, November 5, 2024? Some states allow for pre-registration so you can still vote.
• Study abroad? Yes, you can vote if you are a U.S. citizen living overseas, and the Federal Voting Assistance Program can help.
• Just like applying to Stanford, deadlines do apply. See registration deadlines for your state or territory here, from the non-partisan US Vote Foundation.
• Questions? See the extensive information from Stanford's Democracy Hub or visit the Haas Center for Public Service.

Online voter registration for California residents is available through the Secretary of State. Further information about who is eligible to register, what counts as residency (and how to prove residency), when the registration deadline (and ballot distribution timing) is, and general FAQs are also available. California accepts the National Mail Voter Registration form also.

Paper registration applications are also available at the Department of Motor Vehicles offices or U.S. post office. You may also  request a paper voter registration application be mailed to you by calling the California Secretary of State at (800) 345-VOTE(8683) or by emailing Elections Division staff. Instructions for filling out paper applications are available here, and an ASL video is available here. 

To cast a regular ballot in the 2024 Presidential Election on November 5, Californians must be registered no later than October 21, 2024. 

Need more advice or information on whether you qualify as a California resident? 

• The U.S. Election Assistance Commission provides detailed guidance for college students. Highlights include: "Where you register to vote will not affect your federal financial aid, including FAFSA, Pell Grants, Perkins, or Stafford loans."
• The California Secretary of State provides this advice for college students: "As a Californian living away from home while attending a college, trade school or technical school, you may choose to register to vote using your home away from home address you use while at school or your traditional home address. Choosing which address to use when you register to vote is a personal decision. Whatever you decide, you may not register to vote in two places during the same election cycle."
• The Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, the office overseeing elections in and around the Stanford historic campus, also provides voter registration FAQs, covering temporary addresses, persons without a fixed address, registering with a business or P.O. Box address, and other topics.

Here's a video from the former Secretary of State, now U.S. Senator, Alex Padilla, who acted as a registration witness when a 105 year old voter (and wildfire survivor) changed her registration address. If she can register and vote, you can, too!

Many states offer online voter registration, and links to each applicable state are available at Vote.gov and Can I Vote. Here are direct links to register in West Coast states and U.S. territories:

• Alaska
• Arizona
• Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands
• Guam
• Hawai'i
• Nevada
• Oregon
• Washington

Note that the U.S. Election Assistance Commission provides detailed guidance for college students on residency for voting. This guidance states: "Where you register to vote will not affect your federal financial aid, including FAFSA, Pell Grants, Perkins, or Stafford loans." Further details for each state are available at the Campus Vote Project State Student Guides.

Below are registration deadlines to cast regular ballots (not conditional) in the November 5, 2024 general election, with applicable states and territories listed after each date:

• September 6, 2024: Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (in person only)
• September 21, 2024: Puerto Rico
• October 4, 2024: South Carolina (in person)
• October 6, 2024: Alaska, Arkansas, Rhode Island, South Carolina (online), U.S. Virgin Islands (in person only)
• October 7, 2024: American Samoa, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana (by mail), Mississippi (by mail only), Montana (by mail only), Ohio, South Carolina (postmark for by mail), Tennessee, Texas
• October 8, 2024: Illinois (by mail), Nevada (by mail), New Mexico
• October 11, 2024: Idaho, North Carolina, Oklahoma
• October 12, 2024: Delaware
• October 15, 2024: District of Columbia, Kansas, Louisiana (online), Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Virginia, West Virginia
• October 16, 2024: Wisconsin
• October 18, 2024: Connecticut, Nebraska (online or by mail)
• October 20, 2024: Illinois (online)
• October 21, 2024: Alabama, California, Iowa, Michigan, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Wyoming (by mail; notary required)
• October 22, 2024: Guam
• October 23, 2024: Nevada (online)
• October 25, 2024: Nebraska (in person), Utah
• October 26, 2024: Massachusetts, New York
• October 28, 2024: Colorado, Hawai'i (by mail), Washington

States and territories that allow same-day voter registration, generally in person and often with conditional ballots: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawai'i (online option), Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Utah, Vermont (online and by mail options), Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

North Dakota has no voter registration requirement. Oregon uses a Motor Voter Law with opt-out, so most Oregonians with IDs are registered automatically.