Your Totally Easy, Step-by-Step Guide to Voting in College (from How to Register to How to Vote by Mail)

College comes with a lot of firsts: your first time living away from home, your first time sharing space with a roommate, and, for a lot of students, your first time voting in an election. It seems simple enough: Turn 18 and then turn out to vote! Well, it’s not that straightforward. Turning 18 is the first step, and then you need to make sure you’re registered to vote. 

Voter requirements and voting deadlines vary from state to state, and if you’re going to college in a different state than where you’re from, it can get confusing. Don’t stress, though, because we’ve got a full breakdown about how to register to vote and cast your ballot while living on a college campus.

You need to register to vote in 49 of the 50 U.S. states to vote on Election Day (the 2024 general election is November 5, 2024). 

North Dakota is the only state that does not require voters to register — any North Dakota residents who meet the voting requirements and live in the state for at least 30 days before Election Day can vote.

More than half of the U.S. states offer preregistration for individuals as young as 16 years old, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). That means you can fill out an application with your state’s board of elections to be added to the voter list as soon as you turn 18. If you preregistered in your home state, then you should be registered to vote in that state as long as you’re 18 years old by Election Day.

You can quickly check your voter registration status at Vote.org. Make sure to enter the address you used when you registered. If you get a message that says the website can’t verify your voter registration, don’t panic — take the next prompted step to check directly with your state. (Vote.org couldn’t initially verify my registration, but when I checked with my state’s board of elections, I was listed as registered.) 

If you’re not registered to vote, you can do so online, by mail, or in person before the registration deadline in your state (these really vary, so make sure to check your state’s deadlines carefully!). Online registration is available in 42 states, but if you live in Arkansas, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Texas, or Wyoming, you need to register by mail or in person. 

Some states also offer same-day, in-person voter registration, which requires photo ID and proof of residency. Some states with same-day registration also have voters fill out provisional ballots, which means they’re not counted until the ID and registration is verified.

You can find your state’s voter registration forms and rules using this link from vote.gov.

According to vote.gov, “you can live in more than one place,” meaning you can have a permanent address in one state and a college address in a different state, but you can only vote in one state.

To decide where you should register, consider the issues that matter most to you, who and what’s on the ballot in each state, and which place would be the most convenient for you to vote in person (if that’s your voting plan).

If you want to vote in the state where you go to college, you should use your campus address (either your dorm or off-campus housing), and you need to meet the state’s residency requirements. These vary, but federal law says that states can’t set a residency requirement longer than 30 days prior to Election Day, according to the U.S. Vote Foundation. You can find each state’s requirements here.

To vote in your home state, register using your permanent address in that state, which is wherever you stay when you go home from college. According to the U.S. Vote Foundation, all 50 states allow you to vote in your home state even if you attend college in a different state, but you can check your state’s eligibility requirements here.

Voter identification requirements are another consideration for voting in the state where you go to college. If you plan to vote in person, some states accept a college ID, while others require state-issued IDs or licenses. You can also request to vote by mail when you register in your college’s state (more on that later). You can find each state’s voter eligibility and ID requirements here.

If you’re registered to vote in your home state but won’t be there on Election Day, you have a couple options. 

You can vote in person before Election Day if your state has early voting and you plan to be in town during that period. Forty-seven states offer some kind of early voting, according to the NCSL. You can find your polling place and early voting locations here.

More likely, you’ll need to request, fill out, and return an absentee or mail-in ballot.

Depending on your state’s rules, you may need to provide a reason to receive an absentee ballot. Some states, like California, automatically mail ballots to every registered voter. If you’re in one of those states, make sure you check your registration online to update your mailing address to your college address by your state’s deadline.

A mail-in ballot doesn’t require an excuse, and, in some states, you can request one even if you live in the state you’re registered in. As long as you request a mail-in ballot online, by mail, or in-person by the mail-in ballot request deadline, you should receive a ballot to the mailing address you provided. You can easily request a mail-in ballot on Vote.org, or you can go to your state’s board of elections website.

Once you get your absentee or mail-in ballot, carefully follow the instructions to fill it out (it usually requires a black or blue ink pen). You want to read through and fill out each item on the ballot — and remember to check the back of your ballot for any additional items to vote on! Your ballot should also come with detailed instructions for how to seal, sign, and return it. 

Of course, you can return your ballot by putting it in a mailbox (make sure to add postage if your state doesn’t provide it — some do and some don’t). If you’re voting in the state where you’re registered, you can also return your ballot to a secure dropbox. You should receive that information with your mail-in ballot, but you can also find it on your state’s board of elections website.

Most importantly, make sure you get your ballot in the mail or to a dropbox by your state’s deadline — it’s usually on or around Election Day. Some states require that they receive the ballot by the deadline, and some just require that the ballot is postmarked by the deadline and received at a later deadline. As of October 17, 2024, the United States Postal Service recommends mailing in your ballot as soon as you can, “at least one week prior to the deadline by which [your] completed ballot must be received by [your] local election official.”

A voting plan is exactly what it sounds like, but it’s also easy to put off creating one. 

If you want to vote by mail, it’s especially important to have a plan in place to meet the deadlines to request a ballot and to return it. So, make sure you hit those deadlines, set aside time to fill out your ballot completely, ensure you have postage if you need it, and set a date and time (before or by your state’s deadline) when you plan to mail it or take it to a secure dropbox.

Voting in person requires knowing where you need to go to cast your vote. Make sure you know where your polling place is on Election Day (you can check here), how you plan to get there, and what time it opens and closes. Remember, if you’re in line to vote before the polls close, you’re legally allowed to cast your ballot, however long it takes. If you’re voting early in person, your polling place could be different, so make sure you check exactly where to go and know which dates and times the early voting polls are open.

Finally, it’s important to know who and what you’ll be voting for. You can find out what’s on your ballot here so you can do your research in advance. Build into your plan this time to research the candidates and ballot measures to ensure you’re making informed decisions. 

Whether you still need to register or you’re voting in person or by mail, writing down your plan and saving the dates in your calendar will make sure you find the time to actually get it all done. How else are you going to get that sweet “I Voted” sticker?

This post originally appeared on Dorm Therapy. See it there: Your Totally Easy, Step-by-Step Guide to Voting in College (from How to Register to How to Vote by Mail)