Election reminders help voters stay informed and take timely actions to participate in elections. TurboVote sends strategic reminders at key moments in the election cycle to ensure users are prepared to vote.
Discovery
Users can sign up to receive election reminders through multiple entry points throughout their TurboVote experience, making it easy to opt in whenever they're engaged with election information:
- From your TurboVote Homepage: Click “Send Me Reminders" prominently displayed on the main page. This is often the entry point for new users who want comprehensive election support.
- From a personalized Voting Hub: Complete the sign-up form at the bottom of the page. This pathway catches users who are already exploring their upcoming elections and want to ensure they stay informed.
- From an Election Guide: Click the "Remind Me To Vote" button while viewing information about a specific election. This captures users at a moment of high intent, when they're actively learning about an upcoming contest.
- From an embedded Election Reminders sign-up form: Organizations can embed the reminders form directly on their websites, allowing audiences to sign up without leaving the organization's platform.
- From a custom link: Organizations can share direct links to the reminders sign-up form in emails, social media posts, text messages, or other outreach materials, making it easy for their audience to subscribe.
Users who sign up through Voter Registration Assistance, Request an Absentee Ballot, and What’s On Your Ballot will receive election reminders following their sign up. Check Your Registration users can opt in to election reminders on signup.
This multi-pathway approach ensures that no matter where users are in their civic engagement journey, they can easily access the ongoing support that election reminders provide.
User Experience
The sign up form to receive election reminders asks users to submit their:
- Name, address, and date of birth
- Email and/or phone number
Partners can optionally add a communications preference checkbox to capture opt-in for your own communications.
Users can unsubscribe from TurboVote reminders at any time, by clicking the unsubscribe button at the bottom of our emails, or replying “STOP” to our SMS messages.
Content and Cadence
TurboVote sends reminders for thousands of elections every year—from federal and statewide contests to local school board elections.
While our election coverage is ultimately determined by OCD-ID availability, we usually research elections for jurisdictions with at least 5,000 voters. However, we often extend our reach to cover smaller elections for jurisdictions with at least 100 TurboVote users as well.
Each notification directs users to a TurboVote election guide with the most up-to-date information and actionable steps.
TurboVote election reminders include:
- Links to detailed, dynamically updated Election Guides
- Access to the TurboVote help desk (users can reply to the message)
- Option to update their address with TurboVote
Upcoming Election Reminder
Timing: 30 days before nearly all elections or 5 days before the mail registration deadline
Purpose: Alert users to take key actions ahead of important election deadlines
Content helps voters:
- Learn election dates and deadlines
- Check their registration status
- Request a mail ballot
- Make a plan to vote early or on Election Day
Vote ASAP Reminder (available for key elections)
Timing:
- States with in-person early voting: Voters will receive the reminder 2-3 weeks before Election Day.
- States with all-mail voting: The reminder will go out 8 days before Election Day.
Purpose: Help users vote as soon as they can in their state
Content helps voters:
- Take advantage of early voting opportunities if offered in their state
- Remember to return their ballots promptly if they are in an all-mail voting state
Election Day is Tomorrow Reminder
Timing: The day before Election Day
Purpose: Final reminder to ensure voters are ready to cast their ballot
Content helps voters:
- Find their voting location or ballot drop-off site
- Understand ID requirements for in-person voting
- Confirm their registration status
Variations by State
All-Mail State Variation
Voters in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Vermont (general elections), and Washington receive modified election reminders that:
- Emphasize verifying registration address
- Focus on upcoming deadlines
- Omit ballot request prompts (since ballots are mailed automatically)
Note: SMS subscribers in all-mail states receive the standard SMS format.
North Dakota Variation
Since North Dakota has no voter registration, election reminders:
- Focus on upcoming deadlines
- Provide voting plan guidance
- Skip registration-related content
Your Brand in Reminders
Take your voter engagement up a notch by customizing Reminders to include your organization’s logo and name. Voters receive their Reminders from a trusted organization — yours — and associate your brand with helpful voting guidance.
Your custom logo will appear at the top of election reminders sent via email. Full color logos on a white or transparent background are the preferred format. Your organization's name will also be added to the greeting on upcoming election reminders sent via email and SMS.
- Default Greeting: Hi {Voter’s Preferred Name}, it’s TurboVote with an election reminder.
- Co-Branded Greeting: Hi {Voter’s Preferred Name}, it's {Partner’s Name} with an election reminder from TurboVote.
Ready to co-brand your election reminders?
- Submit Request: Navigate to the Request Customizations Form and check the "Branding" box
- Specify Details: Submit your logo and let us know exactly how you want your organization name to appear
- Go Live: Changes typically take 2-3 business days to activate
Important considerations
- Name Format: Provide the exact name you want to appear (e.g., "United Way," "University of Michigan")
- Character Limits: Organization names work best when under 25 characters for SMS compatibility
-
Consistency: The same name will appear across all notification types
Example of customized email and SMS notifications.
Snooze Reminders
After receiving an election reminder (via email or SMS), users can tap "I've already voted" to immediately opt out of receiving further reminders for that specific election.
The user automatically re-enters the election reminder cycle for their next election.
After tapping “I’ve already voted”, the user is asked a series of optional questions about their voting experience. Answers are multiple choice buttons.
- How did you vote?
- Early in person
- By mail
- Drop-off ballot
- Election day in person
- How often do you vote?
- I rarely vote
- I vote in some elections
- I vote in most election
- I vote in every election
- What prevents you from voting in every election? This question is sent to users who respond to the previous question with one of the first three options.
- I didn’t know about the election
- I was too busy
- I didn’t think my vote would make a difference
- I didn’t know enough about the candidates or issues
- Other reasons
User Data and Insights
The TurboVote Admin Console Dashboard provides metrics and insights about how many of your users are signed up and receiving election reminders.
- Active Users: Total number of users who are actively subscribed to receive email and/or SMS reminders.
- Signups Through Election Reminders: Total number of users who signed up through the reminders form or from an election guide.
- Users subscribed to election reminders by state and referral code.
- User subscription preferences: Total number of users currently subscribed to receive reminders by email and SMS.
Embed On Your Site
Drive traffic to your website and help your audience sign up for helpful reminders about upcoming elections by embedding the reminders form on your website.
Election Reminder Signup Form
This embed appears as a short form prompting your audience to sign up for TurboVote to receive Election Reminders.
After completing the form, the user is directed to their personalized Voting Hub featuring upcoming elections. This flow also creates a TurboVote account for the user.
See an example on our demo site.
Learn more about embedding TurboVote on your website.
Promotion Ideas
Why It Matters
Local elections often see turnout rates below 20%, yet these are the contests where individual votes can have the greatest impact in shaping schools, infrastructure, public safety, and community services. Election reminders solve this awareness problem by meeting voters where they are—in their inbox and text messages—at the exact moments when action is needed.
By encouraging your audience to sign up for election reminders, you're not just helping them vote once—you're establishing a system that supports their civic participation for years to come. The automated nature of election reminders also reduces the burden on your organization; once users are signed up, TurboVote handles the ongoing engagement, freeing your team to focus on other essential priorities.
Best Practices
We recommend promoting TurboVote Election Reminders consistently across all your communications channels. It is the best way for your audience to stay informed about upcoming elections in their area.
- Share a link to your website with the embedded Election Reminders sign up form
- Share a direct link to the Election Reminders sign up form on your TurboVote Hub [yourURL].turbovote.org/reminders/voter-info
- Share a link to your TurboVote Hub homepage
When sharing links, remember to add referral codes to track engagement from your specific outreach campaigns.
Messaging and Graphics
Check out our 2025 TurboVote Local Elections Toolkit for calendars, graphics, and content you can use to promote TurboVote to your audience this year.