Moving to a new address, changing your name, or administrative errors can result in registration problems that voters only discover when they try to vote. By then, it's often too late to fix the issue before an election. The Check Your Registration tool in TurboVote makes it effortless for voters to check their status proactively, giving them time to re-register or update their information if needed.
Discovery
Users can check their registration status through multiple pathways in TurboVote:
- By tapping "Check Your Registration" from your TurboVote homepage or your embedded voting hub
- After entering their address on a Voting Hub or Election Guide, completing the inline registration check form
- From a direct link to the Check Your Registration form embedded on your website, or in your customized TurboVote hub [yourURL].turbovote.org/check-your-registration/voter-info.
- From a personalized link that takes existing users directly to their registration status without re-entering information
Existing users visiting personalized Voting Hubs and Election Guides will also be shown prominent links to check their registration.
How It Works
Info Collected
When users access the Check Your Registration tool, they're asked to provide:
- First and last name used to register to vote
- Date of birth
- Street address (no PO Boxes), with address auto-population support to ensure accuracy
- Email and/or phone number to receive their registration status results
Optional Election Reminders
After entering their information, users are asked whether they'd like to:
- Sign up for election reminders about upcoming elections (in addition to receiving their registration status)
- Only receive a notification about their registration status
Check Your Registration form in TurboVote.
Receiving Results
Once a voter completes the form:
- They're immediately shown their voter registration status on screen
- They receive an email and/or text message with a personalized link back to their registration status for future reference
How TurboVote Determines Registration Status
TurboVote checks if users are registered by searching the TargetSmart Voter Registration Service, a national database of registered voters relied upon by numerous voting and election organizations. The vast majority of states do not provide direct programmatic access to their voter registration rolls, making services like TargetSmart essential for voter verification.
The TargetSmart database receives voter registration records from states frequently throughout the year, though the exact update frequency varies by state. TurboVote notes exactly when each state last updated its data and adjusts guidance based on proximity to elections—the closer to election day, the more we encourage voters to double-check their status directly with their state, since recent registrations may not yet appear in the database.
Important Note: We encourage voters to verify their registration directly with their state as needed based on the status returned within the TurboVote tool, especially close to registration deadlines.
Three Possible Status Results
Users Who May Not Be Registered
If TurboVote couldn't find a voter record matching the information provided, users see a page explaining why they may not be registered, with prominent options to:
- Get help registering to vote from TurboVote (using all the information already provided)
- Check registration status directly on their state's election website
- Check registration status again using different name or address information
The page also displays upcoming elections to encourage timely registration.
Users With Active Registration Status
If a voter's registration status is active, they see a straightforward "You're registered to vote" page that:
- Notes "Status: Active"
- Offers a quick link to double-check status with their state
- Shows upcoming elections
Users With Inactive Registration Status
If a voter's registration status is inactive, TurboVote explains: "You're registered to vote but your registration status is inactive."
The page encourages voters to:
- Re-register to vote to reactivate their status
- Double-check their status with their state
- Make plans to vote in upcoming elections
Note: If a user's registration is inactive, they may have to take extra steps before they can vote. If they do not take these steps, they may have to cast a provisional ballot.
Three registration status results in TurboVote.
Notifications
Registration Status Results Reminder
Timing: Immediately after completing the registration status check
Who Receives It: All users who checked their registration status with TurboVote
Purpose: Provide a personalized link to view registration status anytime without re-entering information
Users receive an email and/or text message containing a unique link to their registration status page. This link allows them to check their status again in the future without filling out the form again.
Personalized Status Links
Each user receives a unique URL that looks like: https://example.turbovote.org/check-your-registration/status?user=Zh_gBG5LQQCwbP_7b7AH3Q
For Organizations: You can create personalized links for your users by:
- Accessing the personalizationId for users via:
- Admin Console's User Export tool
- TurboVote API
- Any TurboVote Webhook event
- Appending it to this URL template: https://[yourURL].turbovote.org/check-your-registration/status?user={personalizationId}
If you've embedded TurboVote on your site, you can use Transport Links to keep users on your domain: https://[yoursite].org/vote?tv-p=/check-your-registration/status&tv-user=Zh_gBG5LQQCwbP_7b7AH3Q
Webhook Events
On sign-up and registration status check, TurboVote emits two Webhook events:
The new TurboVote account is tagged with signup source: check-your-reg
Embed on Your Site
Make registration status checks seamlessly available on your website by embedding TurboVote's Check Your Registration tool directly into your pages.
Check Your Registration Form: Embed the form for a streamlined experience where you provide your own context.
- See example: https://planmyvote.org/check-registration
Learn more about embedding TurboVote on your website.
User Data and Insights
The TurboVote Admin Console Dashboard provides metrics about Check Your Registration
Available metrics:
- Signups Through Registration Status Check: Users who signed up by using TurboVote to check their voter registration status.
- Total Number of Registration Checks by Users: how many times TurboVote users checked their registration using TurboVote's Check Your Registration tool both on initial sign-up and on subsequent visits to personalized Registration Status Pages and Election Guides, regardless of their signup method.
- State-by-state breakdown of registration check activity
- Referral code performance for targeted campaigns
Organizations with webhook access receive real-time notifications when users:
- Create a TurboVote account via registration check (user.created)
- Update their account information (user.updated)
- Complete a registration status check (user.voter-registration-check-completed)
This data enables targeted follow-up campaigns and helps you understand registration verification patterns within your community.
Promotion Ideas
Why It Matters
Voter registration isn't a one-time event, it requires ongoing maintenance. Millions of Americans move each year and don’t realize they need to update their voter registration to their new address. Others experience registration problems due to name changes or administrative errors. If voters only discover these issues at the polls, it might be too late to fix them before the election.
Check Your Registration solves this problem by making status verification quick and easy. A two-minute check can ensure your community maintains voting eligibility despite life changes. This is particularly valuable for populations with high mobility—students, renters, young professionals, and military families who may move multiple times per year.
The tool also serves as a gentle on-ramp to deeper civic engagement. Voters who check their registration are demonstrating interest in participating, making them ideal candidates for election reminders and other voter support tools. When users discover they need to re-register, TurboVote immediately connects them with registration assistance, creating a seamless path to take action.
Best Practices
There are a variety of flexible options to share Check Your Registration with your audience that can fit into your communications plans.
Check Your Registration Form: Users enter their information and receive their registration status.
- Embed the form directly on your website
- Link to your destination site: [yourURL].turbovote.org/check-your-registration/voter-info
TurboVote Homepage: Users can access registration checking from your main TurboVote hub.
- Embed the homepage directly on your website
- Link to your destination site: [yourURL].turbovote.org
You can encourage your community to check their registration at these key moments:
- After moving season (August-September, and other high-mobility periods)
- 4-6 weeks before registration deadlines: Give users time to re-register if needed
- After major life events: Name changes, address updates, long absences
- Early in election years: Before campaigns heat up and closer to deadlines
- Post-election periods: Help users verify status for upcoming elections
Messaging and Graphics
Suggested messaging calls to action are included below:
- "Moved recently? Make sure you're registered at your new address: [link]"
- "Check your voter registration status in under 2 minutes: [link]"
- "Don't risk finding out at the polls—check your registration now: [link]"
- "Changed your name or address? Double-check your voter registration: [link]"
- "Election season is here—are you registered and ready to vote? [link]"
Check out the 2025 Local Elections Toolkit for graphics, sample social posts, and email templates to promote registration checking.