Rock the Vote

Functions as a Voter Assistance Portal and State by State Guide. This resource uses a third party portal to help voters check their registration, register to vote, and receive election reminders. They also have a Voting & COVID page and host opportunities for volunteering and taking action on issues. The website also has a built in state-by-state voting guide that covers a variety of topics and links out to external websites. 

Considerations:

• Functions as a one-stop shop that answers most questions someone may have about voting while also using widgets and portals that can assist students with checking their registration, registering to vote, and receiving election reminders. 

• They have a free Civic Technology Partner program in which you can customize widgets with your institution’s branding by reaching out to their team. 

• Because Rock the Vote is a third party website, they sometimes do not have the most up to date information about registration status. 

• They do not have portals that help in requesting mail-in ballots. 

• Students who have to use paper forms must download and print the form on their own, which is less accessible for students who do not have access to a printer.

TurboVote by Democracy Works

A portal that specifically focuses on walking voters through the voter registration and vote by mail processes step by step. While they offer a free service on their website for anyone to use, the paid campus partnership program provides special benefits.

Considerations:

• Campus partner benefits include personal and technical support from the campus partnership team, access for campuses to track live data of how many students are using the platform, and access for campuses to use students' contact information for their own outreach purposes. 

• Another key benefit is the ability for students to submittheir absentee ballot request and voter registration forms be mailed to them with a postage paid envelope addressed to their local Elections Office. 

• The service itself is very user friendly and keeps the information they provide simple and accessible. 

• The service is more limited in scope than others and only focuses on the processes of voter registration and requesting a mail-in ballot. More information is sent in a follow up email.

Vote.org

Functions as a Voter Assistance Portal and State by State Guide. Uses a third party portal to help voters check their registration, register to vote, vote by mail, get election reminders, locate their polling places, pledge to vote if under 18, and take the census. They also have a Voting & COVID page and a voting rights page that highlights the Election Protection hotline. The website also has a built in state-by-state voting guide that covers a variety of topics and links to external websites. 

Considerations:

• Functions as a one-stop shop that both answers most questions someone may have about voting while also using widgets and portals that can assist students with checking their registration, registering to vote, and voting by mail. 

• Because Vote.org is a third party website, it sometimes does not have the most up to date information about registration status. 

• Students who have to use paper forms must download and print the form on their own, which is less accessible for students who do not have access to a printer.

ALLINtoVote.org by ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge

A college student oriented voter education guide that helps students register to vote, make a voting plan, pledge to vote (and receive election reminders), and learn about important dates, early voting, and ID requirements in their state.

Considerations:

• Uses a digital pledge card that that asks users to name three friends in addition to pledging their own vote. Users will then receive reminders to reach out to those friends.

• Uses vote.org as the platform for registering students to vote and check their registration status.

Can I Vote? by National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) 

This resource links to the official state websites for checking your registration status, registering to vote, voting by mail, polling place lookup, valid forms of ID to vote, early voting info, poll worker sign up, and election official contact information. 

Considerations:

• Official Secretary of States (SOS)  websites are the most up to date and provide the most correct information. Get information straight from the source.

• Not all SOS websites are user friendly and can be difficult to navigate for those unfamiliar with the voting process. 

• The information is not consolidated on one page and requires the user to navigate between multiple websites.

Election Protection

Access to the hotline number to ask questions. Consolidates the information provided in Can I Vote? by NASS (below) into one page with hyperlinks instead of direct links. 

Considerations:

• The information all links directly to the SOS websites and consolidates all of the information into one comprehensive state page.

• Links to resources that increase voter access such as VoteRiders and the Election Protection hotline. 

• There is a high saturation of information that may be overwhelming to new voters unfamiliar with the voting process. 

Howto.vote by Democracy Works

This voting guide clearly breaks down the steps needed to register to vote and to cast a ballot. Includes links to TurboVote for voter registration and absentee ballot requests. Includes contact information for election officials. 

Considerations:

• This is a very user-friendly resource that provides step-by-step help for the voting process. 

• It links to TurboVote as a tool for walking voters through the process of voter registration and step-by-step requests for voting by mail. 

• The information is provided by a third-party and is less comprehensive than state website oriented information.

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State Student Voter Guides by the Campus Vote Project

Covers state specific FAQs regarding student voting concerns for 50 states and D.C. Lists registration deadlines, election dates, voter ID laws, official election websites, voting options, and common questions and concerns for student voters.

Considerations:

• This is one of the few resources that directly focuses on the voting rights and concerns of student voters. 

• Not all states are currently updated for Fall 2020.

• They function more as an FAQ than a process-oriented guide that breaks down how to vote.

Ballotpedia

Covers an extensive variety of information about elections, policies, voting, and government in the United States. Includes the BallotReady portal for students to view what's on their ballot.

BallotReady

Allows users to enter their address and access nonpartisan information about everything on their ballot. Users can then fill it out and use it as a reference for when they vote. They can also share their ballot with friends and family.

Vote411.org by League of Women Voters 

Vote411 has a nonpartisan ballot guide as part of their website that creates personalized ballot information for users. Candidate information is centered around the candidates' responses to questions from the League of Women Voters.