How to Help Friends, Family, and Neighbors Register to Vote

Personal outreach works. A reminder from someone you trust moves people to register and vote far more reliably than any ad. You don't need a campaign — you need a short list of people and a few minutes.

Start with the people you already know

Make a list of five to ten people — family, roommates, coworkers, the group chat. New voters, people who recently moved, and young people turning 18 are the highest-value: they're the most likely to have a registration gap and the least likely to be asked.

The five-minute ask

Keep it warm and specific:

1. "Are you registered at your current address?" Moving is the number-one reason registrations lapse.
2. Send them straight to vote.gov — the official portal, in multiple languages — or their state's election site.
3. Offer to do it together right then. The gap between "I should" and "I did" is where most people fall off.
4. Follow up. A second nudge a week later, and again before the deadline, dramatically raises follow-through.

Running a small registration drive

Want to do more than your circle? A table at a farmers' market, campus, or community event works — but rules vary by state, and some require training or registering as a volunteer deputy registrar.

• Start with your county elections office (ask about local rules) and your state party or a group like the League of Women Voters, which runs nonpartisan drives and provides training.
• Use official forms: the National Mail Voter Registration Form works in most states.
• Know the deadlines. Registrations you collect have to be turned in promptly — many states set strict timelines.

Do it right

• Never fill in someone's form for them or pressure a choice — help them do it themselves.
• Hand people official sources, not lookalike sites.
• Respect a no. The goal is access, not argument.

Then close the loop

Registering is step one. Circle back before Election Day to help the people on your list make a plan: when they'll vote, where, and what to bring. A registered voter with a plan is a voter — and you made it happen.