Many of the processes and laws that govern voting, the options voters have, and the deadlines for various stages of the process, vary from state to state.
It is essential that voters inform themselves of how elections work in the state where they are registered. This website allows you to find the election website for your state: https://www.usa.gov/election-office.
As for voter registration, please note that (with the exception of Wyoming and North Dakota) you can utilize the National Voter Registration Form (find it here in English and in other languages). You can download copies of the form, and instructions on using it.
Also see information on Preregistration for young voters.
Calendar of Key Election Dates
2023 Elections
August – First Republican Presidential Primary Debate, Milwaukee, WI
Mississippi – Gubernatorial and State Legislature election
- Primary: 8/8
- Election: 11/7
- Voting registration deadline 30 days before each respective election
- No early voting but there are absentee ballots available if certain criteria are met
Kentucky – Gubernatorial election
- Primary: 5/16
- Election: 11/7
- Voter registration deadlines: 4/17 and 10/10 respectively, by 4pm local time in both instances
- Early voting for primary:
- Excused in person absentee voting 5/3 – 5/10
- No excuse absentee voting 5/11 – 5/13
- No early voting dates available yet for the general election
Louisiana – Gubernatorial and State Legislature election
- Primary 10/14
- Runoff 11/18
- Voter registration deadline 20 days before each election if online or 30 days before if in person or by mail
- Early Voting
- 9/30 - 10/7 (except Sunday), 8:30am-6pm for primary
- 11/3 – 11/11 except for Sunday 11/5 and Friday 11/10 due to Veterans Day, 8:30am-6pm for runoff
New Jersey state legislature
- Primary: June 6
- Primary early voting: June 2-4
- Voting registration: May 16
- No early voting or voting registration dates yet for the general election
2024
- January 22: Iowa caucus
- January 30: New Hampshire primary
- March 5: Super Tuesday (primaries in Alabama, American Samoa, Democrats Abroad, South Carolina, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia)
- March 5: Hawaii Republican caucuses
- March 12: Primaries in Idaho, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Washington state, caucus in North Dakota
- March 19: Primaries in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Ohio
- March 31: Primary in Puerto Rico
- April 2: Primary in Wisconsin
- April 23: Primaries in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Rhode Island
- April 30: Primary in Connecticut
- May 7: Primary in Indiana
- May 14: Primaries in Nebraska and West Virginia
- May 21: Primary in Oregon
- June 4: Primaries in Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Dakota, and the District of Columbia
- Summer: Conventions. Tradition states the party that holds the White House goes second.
- July 15-18: 2024 Republican National Convention, Milwaukee
- 2024 Democratic National Convention
- November 5: (the Tuesday after the first Monday of November): Election Day.
- December 10: (at least six days prior to the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December): the "safe harbor" deadline under the Electoral Count Act, where states must finally resolve any controversies over the selection of their electors of the Electoral College.
- December 16: (the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December): The electors meet in their respective state capitals and the District of Columbia to formally vote for president and vice president. The number of states that prohibit faithless electors is subject to change. In 2020, 33 states and DC had such laws.
2025
- January 6: Electoral votes formally counted before a joint session of Congress; the President of the Senate formally announces the electoral result.
- January 20: Inauguration Day.