U.S. Election 

Assistance 

Commission 14FACTS

About Voting in Federal Elections 

From registering to vote through casting a ballot on election day, informed voters are empowered voters. Here are 

answers to 14 common questions from citizens about voting in Federal elections. 

Voter’s Checklist— 

Things To Do Before Election Day 

■ Confirm you are registered to vote several 

weeks before election day. 

■ Update your registration if your address, 

name, or political affil iation has changed. 

■ Know how and when to apply for an absentee 

ballot if you are unable to vote at your polling 

place on election day. 

■ Know your options for early voting. 

■ Know the voter identification requirements in 

your State. 

■ Know your polling place and how to get there. 

■ Familiarize yourself with the voting device 

used in your jurisdic tion. Learn how the device 

is accessible to voters with disabilities. 

■ Learn what assistance is available in languages 

other than English. 

■ Know what time the polls open and close. 

■ Become acquainted with the candidates and 

issues on the ballot. 

■ Consider becoming a poll worker in your community. Call your local election office to learn 

more. 

RemembeR

For more information about Statespecific requirements and eligibility, 

contact your State or local election 

offices or consult The National Mail 

Voter Registration Form. See the 

Voter’s Resources section at the end 

of this guide for contact and other 

information. 

1 Am I Eligible 

To Vote? 

You are eligible to vote if— 

■ You are a U.S. citizen. 

■ You meet your State’s residency requirements. 

■ You are 18 years old. Some 

States allow 17-year-olds to 

vote in primaries and/or register to vote if they will be 18 

before the general election. 

2 How Do I Register 

To Vote? 

You may choose to apply for 

voter registration by mail, in 

person, or online. 

By Mail 

■ Download the National Mail 

Voter Registration Form 

(NMVRF) from http://www.

eac.gov/NVRA. You can also 

find NMVRF and State voter 

registration forms at libraries, 

public schools, and city and 

county clerks’ offices. 

■ Complete the form and submit 

it by mail according to the 

instructions. The NMVRF has 

a “State Instructions” section 

that lists the requirements for 

each State. 

■ North Dakota, Wyoming, and 

the U.S. territories American 

Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, 

and the U.S. Virgin Islands 

do not accept the NMVRF. 

New Hampshire accepts the 

form only as a request for a 

State absentee voter mail-in 

registration form. 

In Person 

Apply to register to vote at— 

■ State or local voter registration 

or election offices. 

■ The department of motor 

vehicles. 

■ Public assistance agencies. 

■ Armed services recruitment 

centers. 

■ State-funded programs that 

serve people with disabilities. 

■ Any public facility that a State 

has designated as a voter 

registration agency. 

Online 

■ To learn if your State offers online voter registration, contact 

your State or local election office. 

3 When Should I 

Register To Vote? 

Find out your State’s registration 

deadline— 

■ Access the “State Instructions” 

section of the NMVRF, at 

http://www.eac.gov/NVRA. 

■ Contact your State or local 

election office. 

■ Many States have online tools 

where you can check your 

registration status. 

RemembeR

Contact your State or local election 

office at least 7 weeks before an 

election to learn if you are registered 

to vote and what to do if you are not. 

Asking well before the registration 

deadline allows sufficient time to 

register. 
 

 

 

 

 

2

14 Facts About Voting in Federal Elections 

4 Are There Special 

Requirements the 

First Time I Vote? 

If you registered by mail, you 

might have to show proof of 

identification the first time you 

vote. This proof of identification 

includes— 

■ A current and valid photo identification. 

■ A current utility bill, bank state - 

ment, government check, paycheck, or government document 

that shows your name and 

address. 

You may not have to show proof 

of identification if— 

■ You provided copies of the 

proof of identification with your 

voter registration form. 

■ Your State or local election 

official matched the driver’s 

license number or Social Security information on your application with a Federal or State 

identification record bearing 

the same number, name, and 

date of birth. 

■ You are entitled by Federal law 

to vote by absentee ballot. 

RemembeR

Even if you met the Federal proof-ofidentification requirement when you 

registered, some States may require 

identifica tion at the polling place. 

You are eligible to cast a provisional 

ballot if you do not have sufficient 

identification at the polling place. 

Contact your State or local election 

office for more information. 

5 What Is Early 

Voting? 

Some States might allow you to 

cast a ballot before election day 

at— 

■ A jurisdiction’s election office. 

■ Another designated polling 

place. 

■ A ballot drop site. 

RemembeR

Early voting dates and times vary 

among States. For information, contact your State or local election office. 

6 What Is Absentee 

Voting? 

If you cannot go to your polling 

place on election day, you may 

qualify to cast an absentee ballot. 

■ Some States allow you to cast 

an absentee ballot only if you 

cannot vote at the polling place 

for a reason outlined in State 

law, such as illness or physical 

absence from the jurisdiction 

for a certain number of hours 

on election day. 

■ Other States offer “no-excuse” 

absentee voting, which allows 

any eligible citizen to cast an 

absentee ballot. 

■ States also have different dead ­

lines for requesting and submitting absentee ballots. Contact 

your State or local election office. 

■ You are entitled by Federal law 

to vote by absentee ballot in 

Federal elections if you meet 

qualifications outlined in the 

Voting Rights Act, Uniformed 

and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, and Voting 

Accessibility for the Elderly 

and Handicapped Act. 

RemembeR

After you have received your ab - 

sentee ballot, read the instructions 

carefully. Sign your name where it is 

required. If you return your absentee 

ballot by mail, be certain to put suf ­

ficient postage to the return envelope. 

7 Where Do I Vote— 

Where Is My Polling 

Place? 

■ You are assigned to a polling 

place based on the home address on your voter registration 

record. 

■ Some States have ballot drop 

sites instead of polling places. 

■ To find out the location of your 

polling place or ballot drop sites, 

contact your State or local elec ­

tion office. 

RemembeR

Update your voter registration information each time you move. 

8 What Is Provisional 

Voting? 

If your eligibility to vote in a 

Federal election is in question, 

you must be offered a provisional 

ballot at the polling place. The 

possible reasons include— 

■ Your name does not appear 

on the official voter list at your 

polling place. 

■ Your eligibility is challenged in 

accordance with State law. 

■ You did not provide the required identification to register or at the polling place on 

election day. 

■ A court order requires provisional ballots. 

■ A court order extends polling 

place hours. 

■ State law mandates provisional 

ballots. 

You have a right to cast a provisional ballot if you declare you are 

eligible and registered to vote in 

that jurisdiction. Your provisional 

ballot will be counted if the State 

or local election official later deter ­

mines that you were eligible and 

registered to vote under State law. 

RemembeR

Federal law requires States to provide a “free access system” by tollfree number and/or the Internet for 

you to check the status of your pro - 

visional ballot. Contact your State 

or local election office for more in - 

formation about your State’s system.
 

 

3

14 Facts About Voting in Federal Elections 

9 How Do I Vote if I 

am a Uniformed or 

Overseas Citizen? 

To register to vote or request a 

ballot as a member of the military 

or overseas citizen, use the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA). 

■ The FPCA is available at http://

www.fvap.gov. 

■ The Federal Voting Assistance 

Program (FVAP) Web portal 

offers a step-by-step guide to 

the voter registration process. 

■ All States and territories accept 

the FPCA as a simultaneous 

application for registration and 

request for an absentee ballot. 

■ Depending on your State of 

residence, return the completed FPCA by e-mail, fax, or mail. 

■ Printed copies of the FPCA are 

available at U.S. embassies, military bases, and consular offices. 

Voting Assistance Officers at 

those sites can provide any in - 

formation or assistance you may 

need to complete the form. 

■ You may also request the electronic transmission of blank 

voting materials. 

RemembeR

If you need help with absentee voting, 

visit http://www.fvap.gov, contact 

FVAP at (703) 588–1584 (toll free 

at [800] 438–VOTE; also available 

toll free from 70 countries at http://

www.fvap.gov/contact/tollfreephone.

html), or e-mail vote@fvap.gov.

10 Is Voting Accessible if I Have a 


Disability?
 

Most polling places are designed 

to make the voting process ac - 

cessible to all voters, including 

voters with disabilities, by 

including— 

RemembeR

If you have questions about the ac - 

cessibility of your polling place or 

voting equipment, contact your State 

or local election office.

■ Clearly marked parking spaces. 

■ Entrances with ramps. 

■ Well-marked routes and signage to voting locations. 

■ Voting equipment that is access ­

ible for individuals with disabilities, including the blind and 

visually impaired. 

11 Is Language Assistance Provided? 

The Voting Rights Act requires 

some jurisdictions to provide voting materials in languages other 

than English. Other jurisdictions 

voluntarily offer such assistance. 

Lan guage assistance may include— 

■ Equipping polling places with 

ballots and voting instructions 

in other languages. 

■ Staffing polling places with 

bilingual poll workers. 

■ Providing voting information 

online in languages other than 

English. 

Contact your State or local election 

office to learn more about language 

assistance in your area. 

RemembeR

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission Web site provides voter information in English, Chinese, Japanese, 

Korean, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. The National Mail Voter 

Registration Form is also available 

in those seven languages. This guide 

is available in English, Cherokee, 

Chinese, Dakota, Japanese, Korean, 

Navajo, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Yup’ik.

12 May I Request Assistance To Vote? 

Under Federal law, you may bring 

an individual to assist you in voting 

for reasons of— 

■ Blindness. 

■ Disability. 

■ Inability to read or write. 

Federal law prohibits you from 

receiving voting assistance from 

your employer or an agent of your 

employer, or from an officer or 

agent of the voter’s union. A poll 

worker can provide voting assist - 

ance to— 

■ First-time voters. 

■ Voters with disabilities. 

■ Voters at polling places with 

new voting equipment. 

RemembeR

Some States offer “curbside voting,” 

in which a poll worker brings all 

voting materials to your car if you 

cannot leave your car easily. Check 

with your State or local election office 

to see if curbside voting is available 

in your jurisdiction and for additional 

provisions about voting assistance.

13 How Do I Report 

a Problem or File 

a Complaint? 

If you experience a problem at 

a polling place or with voting 

procedures in your jurisdiction— 

■ Contact your State or local 

election office for information 

on complaint procedures. 

■ Register a complaint with the 

U.S. Department of Justice 

at (800) 253–3931 or voting.

section@usdoj.gov. 
 

4

14 Facts About Voting in Federal Elections 

14 How Can I Become 

a Poll Worker? 

FEdErAl Voting ASSiStAncE

ProgrAm: Voting resources for 

uniformed service members and 

overseas citizens, including the

Federal Post Card Applica tion, 

a voter registra tion form for 

citizens living abroad.

(800) 438–8683

About the U.S. Election 

Assistance Commission 	

(EAC) Poll workers are essential to ensuring smooth, fair, and accurate 

elections. Poll workers— The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) is an independent

bipartisan commission created by 

the Help America Vote Act of 2002 

(HAVA). EAC is charged with ad -

ministering payments to states,

adopting voluntary voting system

guidelines, accrediting voting system test laboratories and certifying voting equipment, maintaining 

the National Voter Registration

form, conducting election data research, and administering a national

clearinghouse for information on 

election practices. 

■ Set up voting equipment. 

■ Verify voter registrations. http://www.fvap.gov

■ Provide voters with appropriate 	

ballots or instruct them on the 	

use of voting systems.	 

U.S. dEPArtmEnt oF JUSticE:

Information about Federal voting

rights laws. To report problems

related to ballot access, including

voter discrimination, call the Vot ­

ing Section at (800) 253–3931. For

voter fraud or intimidation, call

the nearest office of the Federal

Bureau of Investigation or your

local U.S. Attorney’s Office. You

may also file complaints with your 

State or local election official.

(800) 253–3931

■ Close the polling place at the 	

end of the day.	 

■ Prepare election materials for 	

delivery to the central election 	

office.	 

■ Submit polling place results.	 

To be a poll worker, you typically 

must be registered to vote in the 

county or State where you wish 

to serve. Some States, however, 

allow college and high school 	

students to work at polls near 	

their school, even if they are not 	

registered to vote in that jurisdic-	

tion. To find out more about how 

to become a poll worker, contact 

your State or local election office. 

Voter’s Resources http://www.usdoj.gov

U.S. ElEction ASSiStAncE 

commiSSion: A comprehensive 

resource of information on the 

Federal elections process. Citizens 

can register to vote by downloading 

the National Mail Voter Registration Form from the EAC’s Web site. 

(866) 747–1471 

FEdErAl ElEction commiSSion: A clearinghouse of information on Federal campaign finance.

(800) 424–9530

http://www.fec.gov

http://www.eac.gov 

State Election office contact information as of August 1, 2014 

ALABAMA	 

(800) 274–8683	 

COLORADO 

(303) 894–2200 

http://www.sos.state.al.us/elections	 http://www.elections.colorado.gov

ALASKA	 

(907) 465–4611	 

CONNECTICUT 

(860) 509–6100 

http://www.elections.alaska.gov	 http://www.ct.gov/sots

AMERICAN SAMOA 	

(684) 699–3570	 

DELAWARE 

(302) 739–4277 

http://www.americansamoaelectionoffice.

org

http://www.elections.delaware.gov

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 

ARIZONA (866) DC–VOTES 

(602) 542–8683 http://www.dcboee.org

http://www.azsos.gov/election FLORIDA 

ARKANSAS (866) 308–6739 

(800) 482–1127 http://election.dos.state.fl.us

http://www.sosweb.state.ar.us/elections GEORGIA 

CALIFORNIA (404) 656–2871 

(800) 345–VOTE http://www.sos.ga.gov/elections

http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections
5

14 Facts About Voting in Federal Elections 

State Election office contact information (continued) 

GUAM 

(671) 477–9791 

MISSISSIPPI 

(800) 829–6786 

PUERTO RICO 

(787) 777–8682 

http://guamelection.org/ http://www.sos.ms.gov/elections.aspx http://www.ceepur.org

HAWAII 

(808) 453–8683 

MISSOURI 

(800) 669–8683 

RHODE ISLAND 

(401) 222–2345 

http://hawaii.gov/elections http://www.sos.mo.gov/elections http://www.elections.state.ri.us

IDAHO 

(208) 334–2852 

MONTANA 

(888) 884–8683 

SOUTH CAROLINA 

(803) 734–9060 

http://www.idahovotes.gov http://sos.mt.gov/elections http://www.scvotes.org

ILLINOIS 

(217) 782–4141 (Springfield) 

(312) 814–6440 (Chicago) 

NEBRASKA 

(402) 471–2555 

SOUTH DAKOTA 

(605) 773–3537 

http://www.sos.ne.gov http://www.sdsos.gov

http://www.elections.state.il.us NEVADA 

(775) 684–5705 

TENNESSEE 

(877) 850–4959 INDIANA 

(317) 232–3939 http://nvsos.gov/index.aspx?page=3 http://www.tennessee.gov/sos/election

http://www.in.gov/sos/elections NEW HAMPSHIRE 

(603) 271–3242 

TEXAS 

(800) 252–8683 IOWA 

(888) 767–8683 http://sos.nh.gov/Elections.aspx http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections http://www.sos.state.ia.us/elections

NEW JERSEY 

(609) 292–3760 

U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS 

(340) 773–1021 (St. Croix)

(340) 776–6535 (St. John)

(340) 774–3107 (St. Thomas)

KANSAS 

(800) 262–8683 http://www.njelections.org http://www.kssos.org/elections/elections.

html NEW MEXICO 

(800) 477–3632 http://www.vivote.gov

KENTUCKY 

(502) 564–3490 http://www.sos.state.nm.us UTAH

(800) 995–8683 http://www.elect.ky.gov NEW YORK 

(800) 367–8683 http://elections.utah.gov/

LOUISIANA 

(800) 883–2805 http://www.elections.ny.gov/ VERMONT

(802) 828–2464 http://www.geauxvote.com NORTH CAROLINA 

(866) 522–4723 http://vermont-elections.org 

MAINE 

(207) 624–7736 http://www.sboe.state.nc.us VIRGINIA

(800) 552–9745 http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec NORTH DAKOTA 

(800) 352–0867 http://www.sbe.virginia.gov

MARYLAND 

(800) 222–8683 http://www.nd.gov/sos/electvote WASHINGTON

(800) 448–4881 http://www.elections.state.md.us OHIO 

(877) 767–6446 http://www.secstate.wa.gov/elections

MASSACHUSETTS 

(800) 462–8683 http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/elections.

aspx 

WEST VIRGINIA

(866) 767–8683 http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/eleidx.

htm http://www.sos.wv.gov/elections OKLAHOMA 

(405) 521–2391 WISCONSIN

(866) 868–3947

MICHIGAN 

(517) 373–2540 http://www.ok.gov/~elections

http://gab.wi.gov http://www.michigan.gov/vote OREGON 

MINNESOTA (503) 986–1518 

(877) 600–8683 

WYOMING 

http://www.sos.state.or.us/elections (307) 777–5860 

http://www.sos.state.mn.us http://soswy.state.wy.us/elections/

elections.aspx PENNSYLVANIA 

(877) 868–3772 

http://www.votespa.com 

August 2014