Voting is the most important thing we can do to safeguard our rights in a democracy. Unfortunately, dozens of states are passing new laws to make it more difficult for citizens to cast their ballots. The following organizations offer online tools so citizens can register to vote, preview their local ballots, find their polling locations or information about voting by mail and much more:
Ballotpedia is a nonprofit organization that strives to be the digital encyclopedia of American politics, offering unbiased information on elections, politics and policy. Preview your ballot before each election via the Sample Ballot Lookup.
Rock the Vote was founded by music executives in 1990 to address censorship and bolster the underrepresented youth vote. This nonpartisan nonprofit has been a force in registering young voters, who are increasingly the target of voter suppression efforts, from strict voter ID laws to removing polling sites from college campuses. Rock the Vote offers state-by-state voter registration information on its How to Vote page. And the Democracy Explainers provide fantastic teaching tools.
Vote.org launched in 2008 as an online resource for absentee ballot information, the website seeks to simplify political engagement to increase voter turnout and strengthen American democracy. Find regularly updated, state-by-state election information and a primer on Your Rights as a Voter.
VOTE411.org was launched by the League of Women Voters Education Fund in 2006 as a “one-stop-shop” for information on absentee ballots, local ballot measures, early voting options, polling locations, registration and voting requirements and factual data on candidates in various federal, state and local races. They also offer a handy Checklist for First-Time Voters.
270toWin.com If you’re interested in America’s Electoral College system, which requires a presidential candidate to win 270 electoral college votes to become President of the United States, this is a good place to start. It was launched on the heels of the 2000 election, when the nationwide popular vote winner did not become president. 270toWin offers an interactive mapping tool and aggregates polls, professional election projections and election news. Visitors can create and share their own election forecasts.
