How does voter registration work?

#States run it, and North Dakota is the exception

You register with a state or local election office, under your state’s deadlines and procedures. In every state but North Dakota, a person must be registered to vote in an election. North Dakota has no voter registration at all. Eligible citizens show a valid form of identification at the polls instead, and the secretary of state’s voter guide sets a rule of 30 days’ residence before Election Day.

#What the National Voter Registration Act requires

The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) sets requirements for federal elections, and states may extend them to other elections. Covered states must offer three ways to register:

• while applying for or renewing a driver’s license
• by mail, using a federal form
• in person at designated offices, including public assistance, disability service and Armed Forces recruitment offices

A covered state cannot close registration more than 30 days before a federal election. It must also finish any systematic program to remove ineligible voters from its lists at least 90 days before a federal primary or general election. That 90-day rule does not stop removals at a voter’s request or because of death.

Six states are exempt: Idaho, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming. On and after August 1, 1994, each had either no registration requirement or Election Day registration at polling places for federal elections.

#What the Help America Vote Act added

The Help America Vote Act, enacted on October 29, 2002 (HAVA), requires a single computerized voter list in each state, run at the state level. Applicants for federal elections must give a driver’s license number if they have a current one, or otherwise the last 4 digits of their Social Security number. Someone with neither is assigned a number by the state.

HAVA also sets an ID rule for certain first-time voters who registered by mail. They must show a current photo ID or a document with their name and address, such as a utility bill or bank statement. A voter at the polls who lacks it can cast a provisional ballot.

#Where states differ

• Same-day registration: NCSL counted 24 states and DC as of March 27, 2026. A qualified resident can register and vote at the same time, though some of these states offer it only on Election Day and some only during early voting. All require proof of residency, and a current driver’s license or ID card is enough in all of them. Alaska and Rhode Island allow it only for president and vice president, and NCSL leaves them out of the count.
• Deadlines: as of May 20, 2026, some states closed in-person registration weeks before an election and others allowed it up to Election Day itself. A state’s deadline can differ by registration method and type of election.
• Online registration: 42 states, DC, Guam and the Virgin Islands, as of May 19, 2026.
• Automatic registration: NCSL categorized 24 states and DC this way as of August 19, 2026. Its category covers state laws, administrative action and systems a chief election official confirmed.

#A worked example: a proof-of-citizenship law

In 2004, Arizona voters adopted Proposition 200. It told county recorders to reject any registration application that did not come with satisfactory evidence of US citizenship. The federal mail form, as the Court described it, required applicants to swear to their citizenship under penalty of perjury but not to show documents, so the two rules collided.

On June 17, 2013, in Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, the Supreme Court ruled 7 to 2 that the NVRA “precludes Arizona from requiring a Federal Form applicant to submit information beyond that required by the form itself.” The opinion also left a route open: a state may ask the Election Assistance Commission to add information to the form, and may go to court if the commission refuses. It also said the Elections Clause “empowers Congress to regulate how federal elections are held, but not who may vote in them.”