Why It Matters

Every eligible voter should have a fair and equal opportunity to register to vote and to cast their ballot. Yet millions of Americans miss the opportunity to vote because they don’t know how to register or they miss their state’s deadline.    

Our democracy is at its strongest when everyone can participate and make their voice heard. By empowering voters with information and opportunities to register, we ensure that everyone gets an equal say in our elections. 

What We're Doing

As the nation’s largest and longest-standing grassroots voter registration organization, our volunteers register hundreds of thousands of voters and host community voter registration drives across the country each year. We use organizing, education, and advocacy to empower people to participate in our democracy. Below are a few of our primary methods of registering voters. 

Reaching High-Opportunity Populations 

Young Voters 

Many issues on the ballot majorly affect young people, such as college tuition reform and job opportunity programs. Young voters also make up a huge percentage of the potential voting population. Despite this, young people aren’t always empowered to participate in elections. 

In 2022, the League embarked on its largest-ever youth voter registration campaign, hosting 900+ events nationwide. In 2023, 86 of our 750+ Leagues increased that number to 1000 events; that small portion of our membership registered more than 19,000 young voters in high schools, community colleges, and other youth-serving areas! 

New Citizens 

Every year, hundreds of thousands of people become citizens of the United States; newly naturalized citizens make up roughly 10% of eligible voters in the nation. LWV connects with these new citizens through programs like our Naturalization Ceremonies Project. 

In 2022, 31 League volunteer teams reported registering over 37,000 new citizens at nearly 800 ceremonies. This is just a handful of the efforts made by Leagues overall! 

Returning Citizens 

Returning citizens are at a high risk of not having access to accurate information about their voting rights; Leagues nationwide are working closely with community partners to reverse that trend. 

2022 saw the launch of a pilot program to empower returning citizens (previously incarcerated people) via voter registration. From visiting jails and prisons to partnering with community programs serving returning citizens, Leagues nationwide reached out to this important population.

VOTE411.org  

Our award-winning voting and election resource, VOTE411.org, provides reliable, nonpartisan information in English and Spanish. It includes opportunities to check your voter registration and register if you haven’t already. You can also find information about which documents and forms of ID you need to register, whether online and same-day registration are available in your state, and more. 

In the 2022 Fiscal Year (July 2022 – June 2023), nearly 4.3 million people accessed VOTE411.org for voter education and information purposes, including information on over 52,000 candidates running for office.