First Time Voter’s Guide
Introduction
The purpose of this guide is to give new voters a better understanding of the voting process. It is written as an overview. Any one of these topics can be studied in depth. Appropriate links are provided both for immediate assistance, and for those who wish to learn more.
The Summary is your Quick Start guide, giving you the information you will need to vote this November. The Full Guide has more in-depth information regarding the various levels of government, terms of office, political subdivisions, redistricting, dirty political tricks to watch out for, and more.
- All American citizens who will be 18 years of age or older by Election Day are eligible to vote.
- Most states require registration prior to Election Day. For your state’s registration deadline, eligibility rules, and other state specific details, go to the link:
“Vote.org/[your state name] - Vote.org/Ohio for example
- If you need to register you can go to this link: (Note, not all states allow online registration.)
https://ballotpedia.org/Online_voter_registration
- If you think you are registered but wish to confirm so, (highly recommended) go to this link:
https://www.vote.org/am-i-registered-to-vote/
- Election Day 2024 is November 5th. Do not let ANYONE tell you to vote later than that date, no matter how official they seem.
For information about Primary elections refer to the Full Guide below.
- Voting is done either in-person on Election Day, in-person via Early Voting, by mail in vote-by-mail states, by mail via absentee ballot, or by mail from overseas. With the exception of very rare cases for disabled individuals, voting is NEVER done via phones, computer websites, or via other digital devices. Do not let anyone tell you to text your vote somewhere. It will be wasted. (If you are someone who is authorized to vote electronically, then you will already be aware of this fact with certainty.)
- If you receive a paper ballot, inspect it to ensure there are no marks on it such as check marks, or any other handwritten marks. Also do not make any stray marks on your ballot. These random marks on a ballot can cause it to be rejected.
- If you vote by mail-in ballot, be certain to sign and date the return envelope in the correct spaces prior to sending.
- In most states, in-person voting must be done at your correct polling place. If you are uncertain where to vote, check the polling place locator here:
https://www.vote.org/polling-place-locator/
- Some states require photo ID for voting. If you are uncertain about your state's laws you may visit:
https://www.vote.org/voter-id-laws/
- If there is some problem with your registration, you may be allowed to complete a provisional ballot. Do this only as your last option. If it is possible to register in person at the polls, then that is much more likely to result in your vote being counted.
- Once voting is complete, be patient for results. In close elections, it may take a few days to count all of the mail-in ballots.
Summary
Full Guide
Election Schedule
Elections are held for offices at all levels of government. Because these offices have varying terms of office, not all offices are voted on in any given election. Federal elections are held every two years. Election Day for these elections is the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November. In 2024 this date is November 5th. This is the last day on which ballots may be submitted. Many states allow early voting in the weeks prior to the election. This link has a map showing each state's earl voting status:
https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/early-in-person-voting
Primary Elections
Primary elections are held to select nominees for the General Election in November. There are several types of primary elections. Many primaries are run by state political parties to select a nominee for their party. These are often classified as "open or closed." An open primary allows all voters to cast votes. A closed primary only allows members of the party holding the primary election to vote. Other states have all voters cast votes in the same primary, and then choose the top few finishers as nominees for the General Election. For a deep dive into types of primary elections go to this link:
https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/primaries-more-than-one-way-to-find-a-party-nominee
Caucuses
Residents of five states, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, Nevada, and Wyoming hold party caucuses to select their presidential nominee. A caucus is a physical gathering of people who turn out in locations across the state to support their chosen candidate. There are fairly detailed and complex rules for how caucuses are managed, and those rules vary by state. They are also determined by the political parties and are subject to change for any election year. So knowing the details of how they worked in 2024 may or may not mean that you know the rules for 2028. If you are a resident of one of these states then you might wish to consult this link for a synopsis of the state caucuses.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/caucus-states
And for detailed understanding of your home state's present caucus system choose from the links below:
For Iowa -
For Missouri (Republican Party Only, Democrats hold a primary election) -
For North Dakota (Republican Party Only, Democrats hold a primary election) -
For Nevada things were more interesting in 2024 -
For Wyoming they describe their system as caucus-convention, and it is a months long process -
General Elections
General elections are the elections which finally choose who wins the office being contested. There are multiple ways that they are counted and winners determined. In most states the method is winner take all. You get to vote for one candidate for each office, and the candidate who receives more votes wins.
Other states offer variations which enable voters to either assign a rating from 0-5 for a given candidate - STAR Voting;
OR to rank their choices from favorite to least favorite, and then redistribute votes from losing candidates to your next highest choice. This is called Ranked Choice or Instant Runoff Voting (IRV)
The Electoral College
The exception to the above rules is for U.S. Presidential elections. The winner of the presidential election is the candidate who receives the most votes in the Electoral College (EC) - bear with me. Each state has a specific number of electors in the EC. This number is determined by the size of that state's Congressional representation - the number of House of Representatives members plus two for the two Senators. By example, Oregon has 8 votes in the EC, 2 for its senators, and six for its six members of the House of Representatives. And though not a state, the District of Columbia has three EC votes. Whichever candidate wins the most votes in a state receives that state's EC votes, with two exceptions. The states of Nebraska and Maine divide their EC votes among the winners in each Congressional district.
A candidate must receive a majority of EC votes to be declared the winner. As there are a total of 538 EC votes, this means a candidate must receive at least 270 EC votes to win. If neither candidate has 270 votes, then the choice goes to the House of Representatives who vote on the basis of who holds a majority in each state's Congressional delegation. To take a deeper dive into the Electoral College you can go here:
https://www.archives.gov/electoral-college/about
The Popular Vote
This is the term used to describe the raw vote totals received by the presidential candidates. It does not determine the winner of the election, but is an indication of which candidate was more popular among all voters.
The National Popular Vote Compact
There is an ongoing effort to gather states into an agreement that would nullify the effect of the Electoral College. The general idea is that each state which participates in the compact pledges their electoral votes to the candidate who wins the Popular Vote. The provisions go into effect once there are enough states participating in the compact to meet the 270 vote threshold for winning the presidency. For a deep dive into this plan go here:
https://www.nationalpopularvote.com/written-explanation
Levels of government and associated terms of office
Federal Offices
These are the federal offices which appear on your ballot in a presidential election year. In mid-term elections, Senators and Representatives are on the ballot, but not President.
US Presidents serve a four year term, and are limited to two terms. To serve as president a candidate must be a natural born U.S. citizen who is at least 35 years old. Immigrants who gain their citizenship are not eligible to be president.
US Senators serve a six year term with no limit on number of terms. To serve as a U.S. Senator, a candidate must have been a U.S. citizen for at least nine years, be at least 30 years old, and reside in the state for which they are elected to serve.
US Representatives (also called Congressmen and Congresswomen) serve a two year term with no limit on the number of terms. To serve in the House of Representatives a candidate must have been a U.S. citizen for at least seven years, be at least 25 years old, and reside in the state - though not the district - which they are elected to represent.
State and Local Offices
There are many possible local and state offices that can appear on your ballot. These include members of the state legislature, statewide offices such as Secretary of State, Governor, and Lieutenant Governor, and city and county level offices.
State offices such as Governor have their own state-specific terms of office, qualifications, and timing of election cycles. To take a deeper dive into state and local offices you can go here:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/our-government/state-local-government/
To learn more about your state's specific offices and other voting details consult your state's office of the Secretary of State. Or you can do a search for State Offices [your state name]
Off year elections
The term "off year elections" is used in a few different ways. Sometimes it is generally used to refer to any elections which are not held during presidential election years. Others choose to only use this term for elections in odd-numbered years, referring to the elections held two years after presidential elections as mid-terms. It is generally understood that voter turnout is higher in years with presidential elections.
Special elections
In some cases a state's legislature will schedule a special election. These are typically held to replace office holders who have left office for some reason. Possible reasons include Retirement, Resignation, Death, Recall, Impeachment. These elections may be scheduled at virtually any time, based on individual state law. As their name suggests, they are not regularly planned and scheduled events. If wish to take a deeper dive into special elections, and how vacancies are filled you can go here:
https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia_Coffee_Club:_Special_elections
Registering to vote, Eligibility & Residency requirements
All states require voters to register prior to voting. In some states you are allowed to register at the polls on election day provided that you bring the needed documentation to establish that you are eligible. This often includes some document which establishes your physical address such as a utility bill. Check the requirements in your state if you plan to register at the polls. The deadlines for registration vary from state to state.
All US citizens who are 18 years of age on or before election day are eligible to vote. In some areas, non-citizen legal residents are also allowed to vote in local elections. Many states also have residency requirements, meaning you need to have lived there a certain minimum time before you are eligible to register By federal law, no state's residency requirement can be longer than 30 days before election day.
For any questions regarding these topics, visit “Vote.org/’your state name’ - Vote.org/Ohio for example
Voter roll purges
Various states review their voter registration lists on a regular basis to remove people who have not voted in a predetermined number of elections - typically two or more - or who have showed up on cross-referenced lists from other states. Sometimes these removals are done in error, and remove people who wish to vote and plan on voting, or who should not have been removed at all based on the legal criteria. For this reason it is highly advisable to confirm your voter registration status, and to do it prior to your state's deadline for registering. If you have been removed from the voter rolls, and yours is not a same day registration state, then you will not be allowed to vote if you fail to register before the deadline, even if you had every reason to believe that your registration should have been good.
You can confirm your registration here: https://www.vote.org/am-i-registered-to-vote/
You can register to vote here: https://www.usvotefoundation.org/vote/register-to-vote
Political subdivisions - districts, wards, precincts and more
The lowest levels of local political organization can be confusing. States are divided into federal legislative districts which are represented by a member of the US Congress, and into counties and cities which also have associated elective offices. These smaller subdivisions are generally made for state legislature representatives, and city or town council offices. Each precinct, ward, parish, or other named subdivision is typically represented by a state legislator or city/town Council member. To further complicate things all states except Nebraska have a bicameral legislature like the federal government. This means an upper house, typically called the senate, and a lower house which can have many names such as General Assembly, Board of Commissioners, or other creative names.
There are also typically more members of the lower house than the upper. This means that most Americans find themselves in at least three different local political subdivisions simultaneously - their federal legislative district, their state senate district, and their state representative district.
Redistricting
Things get even more interesting after the official US Census which is every ten years. As a result of population changes, all of the subdivisions are subject to change based on where people have moved to and from. When this happens, all of your district/ward/precinct/parish boundary lines are potentially changed. Some districts may disappear or be created if an area gained or lost significant population. If your state gained or lost enough residents, then you will gain or lose a seat in the US House of Representatives. For example, Oregon's population increased between 2010 and 2020, going from 3.84 million people to 4.24 million. This meant that Oregon was awarded an additional Representative.
Jurisdictional subdivisions
County and city boundaries are not subject to change under redistricting. As such your eligibility to vote for local offices such Mayor, County Executive, or local District Attorney do not change. HOWEVER, these boundaries can change as the result of new laws. Using an Oregon example again, when the city of Eugene expanded north, homeowners were given the option of being incorporated into the city or remaining in Lane County. This means that you can be a county resident and be surrounded by homes that are in the city. Lane County residents in Eugene do not vote for Mayor or City Council members, only Lane County offices. They also do not have access to city services such as police or library. This makes ballots in Eugene very specific to addresses. This is made easier to manage by the fact that Oregon is all vote-by-mail, and has been for decades.
Another interesting exception is the case of cities which are not part of their surrounding county. These are known as Independent Cities, and are mostly in the state of Virginia, (38 of them), due to the nature of Virginia law. The other three are Baltimore, Maryland, St. Louis, Missouri, and Carson City, Nevada. You can take a deeper dive into this here:
https://discover.hubpages.com/education/Independent-Cities-of-the-United-States
Gerrymandering
This is a term you may have heard. It is the practice of drawing legislative boundaries in a manner that is intended to give one political party a built-in advantage at election time. This is done by first identifying areas with groups of people who are anticipated to vote in a particular way. Then these people are either packed into districts that have lots of the same kind of voter, or broken up into two or three different districts. In the first case, it gives a candidate from the non-favored party an enormous margin of victory, but in return ensures that more than one other candidate is elected from the favored party because all of their opposition got packed into the other district. In the second case the voters could have elected someone of the non-favored party had they not been divided by the boundary lines. Many states are passing laws that make Gerrymandering difficult to achieve. This practice got its name from former Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry who presided over some districts created in this manner. It is generally looked at negatively in modern times, with the main complaint being that it allows politicians to pick their voters instead of letting the voters pick their leaders. You can take a deep dive into this topic here:
Poll workers
In states with in-person voting, there are several people who are required for managing the logistics of the voting process. These people are often volunteers, though in some cases they are temporary employees. They are typically under the management of the local elections clerk/manager/supervisor - titles vary. And those managers typically report to the Secretary of State.
When you show up at your local polling place, it is the poll workers who assist you in directing you where to go when. They check your registration against the voter rolls, and direct you to where to cast your vote - typically in a space with visual privacy to ensure the confidentiality of your vote. They also handle things like challenges to voters.
Challenging voters
Many states provide a mechanism whereby voters eligibility to vote may be challenged. The rules for this vary widely in regards to who may do so, when and how. For details on your state's law on this you may wish to Google the phrase - Voter challenge laws [your state name]
Electioneering
When you vote in-person at your polling place, there will most likely be supporters of specific candidates or parties in the election. They will typically be wearing campaign branded clothing or wearing hats, buttons, or other items mentioning their partisan choices. They will also likely offer you campaign literature. Their intent is to sway people who have not made up their minds for a given candidate, trying to nudge them into voting for that person. Sometimes they can go beyond nudging, and become more aggressive. If you encounter someone on your way into the polling place who is acting in an aggressive manner, it is appropriate to report them to the persons inside who are managing the site. Also, most states and/or local jurisdictions have laws regarding how close they may approach the voting entrance.
For the most part, people who are electioneering at the polls are party volunteers, not paid staffers. They deserve to be treated with respect. (Not to say that party staff members are not deserving of that same respect.)
Methods of voting
The most common way that people vote in the United States has shifted over the years. For several decades the most common voting method was to show up on Election Day and cast a vote in person. People with authorized reasons that they could not vote in person could request an absentee ballot. This included people like disabled persons, college students who maintained residence in their home state, and service members deployed in foreign countries.
That method has given way to forms of mail-in and early voting. Early voting generally refers to in-person voting at your polling place prior to Election Day. All forms of mail-in voting involve potential early voting, as ballots may be returned immediately after being received in the mail. States with mail-in voting typically send out ballots a few weeks prior to Election Day. The following link lists which states have mail-in voting, and the forms in which it is used:
https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/table-18-states-with-all-mail-elections
Machine styles
The voting machines used for in-person voting have also evolved over the past several decades; Prior to the digital age most machines for voting were built using mechanical levers that were assigned to candidates. (There have also always been small jurisdictions which use hand-counted, hand-marked ballots.)
Most machines now are electronic voting machines - EVM's. These also work in a variety of methods. Some provide a printed receipt to the voter, some do not. The following link goes into detail regarding these machine styles:
https://electionlab.mit.edu/research/voting-technology
Provisional ballots
Provisional ballots are used in a variety of situations. The most common is when there are issues with someone's registration. These can be discarded if the issue is not resolved in a short period after the election. Another use is when there are problems with the voting equipment at a particular polling place, and they are unable to use their standard pre-printed ballots. In these cases, the votes are generally counted along with the rest of the cast ballots.
Blank votes and split-ticket voting
It is perfectly legal to choose to not vote in every race on your ballot. It is also perfectly legal to vote for candidates of different parties on the same ballot. There may be some partisans who try to tell you otherwise. They do this because they want to get you to vote for only their party's candidates. They may say, "You can't do that." What they really mean is that they don't want you to do that.
Polling places
In most states and local jurisdictions, voters must vote at a particular location, or at a few specific locations. This is based on your various federal, state, and local election district boundaries. The ballot that you receive at your polling place must match the offices for which you are eligible to vote. It is not generally safe to assume that your polling place for the most recent election with be your polling place for the current election. Your state elections administration should inform you by mail prior to the election where your polling place is for this year. If you have any uncertainty you can check or confirm your polling place at this link:
https://www.vote.org/polling-place-locator/
Election Day
Election Day for federal general elections is always the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November. This means that it falls as early as November 2nd and as late as November 8th. As mentioned in the summary above, never let anyone convince you to vote later than this date. Anyone who tells you this is trying to take away your right to have your vote counted.
Photo ID
All states require some form of identification for in-person voting at polling locations. In some states that ID must be a government issued photo ID such as a Driver's License. To check the requirements for your state go to:
https://www.vote.org/voter-id-laws/
Early Voting
Early voting is technically any voting conducted prior to Election Day. In general usage, however, it typically refers to in-person voting conducted at polling places during scheduled early voting periods specified in state and/or local law. All but three states, Alabama, Mississippi, and New Hampshire allow early in-person voting. To learn the details for your state go to this link:
https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/early-in-person-voting
Ballot Initiatives, Ballot Questions & Bond Issues
In addition to candidates for office, other matters may be presented on your ballot for your consideration. These can take a number of forms. As a general rule, the ballot will contain an explanation of the item in question. In many states citizen ballot initiatives can be placed on the ballot if they receive enough valid signatures during a predefined collection period. See here to learn more about these:
https://ballotpedia.org/Ballot_initiative
Other issues that may be on your ballot include proposed constitutional amendments, tax related issues, and approvals to issue bonds for public projects. Most if not all states require that new constitutional amendments be voted on and passed, sometimes by a majority of more than 50.1% In some states, certain forms of tax changes such as increases in the property tax rate must be approved by the voters. The same is true for raising money for government projects by issuing municipal bonds. Voters must approve taking on the new debt incurred by issuing the bonds. You can read more about bond issues here:
https://ballotpedia.org/Bond_issue
Dirty Tricks
There are several ways that unscrupulous political operatives can attempt to affect your ability to vote. Some of these are related to allocation of resources by partisan officeholders, favoring some neighborhoods or groups of voters over others. Others are related to disseminating disinformation by means such as mailers, flyers, and telephone calls. These often target specific groups or neighborhoods and seek to convince people to attempt to vote by sending text messages to a specified number, or convince them to vote the day after Election Day. Still others involve dishonestly challenging large numbers of voters in targeted polling locations to attempt to force them to use provisional ballots, or just slow things down overall, making lines and wait times longer. Some of these are outright fraud. Others are attempts to disenfranchise people by forcing them to spend hours if they wish to vote.
A few new developments have made it more important than ever to confirm your registration. A number of states have made it far easier for independent groups to challenge registrations. Also there are reports of dishonest groups which pretend to register people online, but instead of registering members of the opposing party they just gather their information for targeted political ads. Be certain of the validity of the people who register you. If you are uncertain, confirm your registration.
Conclusion
This is a living document and is far from comprehensive. However, it should give you a good grounding in most things election related. If you have questions that you did not find answered here, please feel free to pass them along to us by sending an email to inquiries@voteforce1.org. and we will do our best to find an answer for you. In some cases that may also result in updating this guide to include the new information.