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Preregister To Vote

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TurboVote sends SMS reminders to teen users (ages 13-17) based on their state's preregistration rules to help them register to vote as soon as they're eligible.

Discovery

Teens can find the option to Preregister To Vote by tapping “Under 18?” from your TurboVote homepage or embedded voting hub. The “Preregister to Vote” button is prominently displayed below the Register To Vote and Check Your Registration buttons. 

The Preregister To Vote tool can also be embedded on your website and made accessible to your audience through your promotional channels. 

You can also share custom links to promote the Preregister To Vote form or Youth State Voter Guides in your TurboVote Hub for targeted outreach campaigns to teens.  

How It Works

After completing the Preregister to Vote form, the user will be directed to their Youth State Voting Guide. They will also be opted-in to receive ongoing SMS notifications with reminders to register and helpful resources assist them in preregistering or registering to vote as soon as they reach the required age in their state. 

The Youth State Voting Guides include all the information and links future voters need to register to vote in their state. Guidelines are written to be helpful and clear to future voters under 18 who likely have never registered to vote before. 

Each actionable Youth State Voting Guide includes: 

  • Eligibility information  
  • Links to online voter registration forms with instructions
  • Information about which registration options are available to people under 18 (online, by mail, and in person) in their state 
  • Information about local election offices and how to contact them for more assistance 

See an example of a Youth State Voting Guide for California. 

Notifications

Teen users (ages 13-17) who sign up for preregistration support through TurboVote receive SMS notifications based on their state's preregistration rules to help them register to vote as soon as they're eligible. 

Sent at Signup

  • Youth State Voting Guide with registration instructions
  • Immediate registration opportunity (if eligible) or timeline for future eligibility

Sent When They Become Eligible

  • Youth State Voting Guide with registration steps
  • Clear call-to-action to begin the registration process

Sent On Birthdays (16th & 17th)

  • Youth State Voting Guide and registration reminder
  • (Note: Skipped if user already received eligibility notification on their birthday)

Sent On 18th Birthday

  • Link to full TurboVote voter registration assistance
  • Encouragement to vote in their first elections

Notifications Vary Based On State Rules 

States with Age-Based Preregistration Rules 

In some states, residents must be at least a certain age (and fulfill the stage's other registration eligibility criteria) to register to vote. Each state of this type has defined their age minimum for registration.

In states with age-based preregistration rules (such as California, Nevada, and Texas), after signing up with TurboVote, users either:

  • are told they are old enough to register (as of the date that they submit the form, referencing state-specific requirements), and are displayed their relevant Youth State Voting Guide to learn how to register
  • or are told they’re not of age to register, are notified via SMS as soon as they become old enough to register, and are reminded annually after they become eligible to preregister. They’re reminded on their 18th birthday to register to vote, and to vote in future elections.

For the 40% of New York State residents who live in New York City, it’s often easier to use NYC’s own Online Voter Registration tool. Users will find TurboVote’s New York Preregistration Guide offers easy access to both New York State and New York City online voter registration tools.

States with Election-Based Preregistration Rules 

In some states, such as Ohio, residents of the state have to be 18 by their next election to register to vote, and additionally, each of these states define "next election" criteria differently—sometimes the definition only includes general elections, sometimes a broader list. Some states of this type also have an age minimum—e.g., a resident in that state has to be at least a certain age, fulfill all the other registration eligibility criteria, and turn 18 by the next election (as defined by the state) to be able to register.  

If a user is old enough to register in advance of an upcoming statewide or federal election date, we share this result with them and encourage them to register to vote. If the rules in their state are unclear, they’re too young to register, or we otherwise can’t confirm their eligibility to register yet, we encourage them to review their Youth State Voting Guide and read their state’s requirements. 

North Dakota

In North Dakota, when users sign up through the preregistration feature, they’re informed that ND doesn’t have voter registration. They’re reminded annually about their TurboVote sign up and to prepare to vote when they turn 18.

Preregistration Guide Query Parameters

When promoting Youth Voting Guides to your audience of TurboVote users, you can increase the level of personalization by adding a specific query parameter to the URL. With this parameter, a status panel will appear at the top of the guides, clearly indicating the user's eligibility to register to vote based on their age.

The user will see their Youth Voting Guide with a status panel at top telling them explicitly if they are old enough to register to vote yet. 

It is important to note that we recommend using this feature only when you are completely sure about the user's age eligibility. This ensures that the information displayed aligns accurately with the user's status.

If you attempt to append the re=n parameters to a state that DOES have voter reg, or the re=i or re=a parameters to a state that does NOT have voter reg, no status panel will be displayed.

Embed On Your Site

There are a variety of options for you to embed preregistration tools on your website and promote them to your audience. 

Preregistration Button

The embed appears as a button prompting your audience to Preregister to Vote. After tapping the button, the user is directed to complete the Preregistration form, and will be directed to the Youth State Voting Guide. After completing the form, they will have created a TurboVote account, and receive preregistration reminders. 

See example on our demo site here: example.turbovote.org/preregister

Preregister to VoteForm

This embed appears as a short form prompting your audience to Preregister to Vote. After completing the form, the user is directed to their Youth State Voting Guide. This flow also creates a TurboVote account, and activates preregistration reminders for the user. 

See an example on our demo site here

Preregistration Guides
It’s also easy to embed Preregistration Guides featuring each state’s registration eligibility guidelines, information on which forms of registration are available to people under 18, and links to register with their state. 

Promotion Ideas

Why It Matters

Engaging young people before they can vote is a powerful investment in long-term democratic participation. Youth preregistration helps establish a foundation of civic identity and voting knowledge. When young people preregister, they receive ongoing reminders and support that carry them through the transition to early adulthood, ensuring they're ready to vote the moment they turn 18 rather than discovering registration requirements at the last minute or missing early elections entirely.

By promoting preregistration consistently and enthusiastically, you're investing in the future of democracy itself—ensuring that the next generation enters adulthood with the knowledge, tools, and habits needed to participate fully in shaping their communities and country.

Best Practices

TurboVote’s Preregister to Vote tool and Youth Voting Guides make it easy for you to inspire future voters (aged 13-17) to register to vote as soon as their state allows. With these tools, you can: 

  • Help future voters understand whether they can register to vote yet and convince them to take action now
  • Show future voters how to register in their state through detailed guidance and links to registration portals, by-mail registration forms, and more
  • Remind them to finish the registration process and vote in elections once they turn 18

Preregister to Vote Form: Users create an account, and sign up to get reminders and updates

  • Embed the Preregister to Vote form on your website (example)
  • Share a direct link to the Preregister to Vote form on your TurboVote Hub: [yourURL].turbovote.org/preregister/voter-info
  • Share a link to your TurboVote Hub homepage

Youth Voting Guide: Users can learn more about voting rules in their state

  • Embed the Youth Voting Guide menu with all states listed on your website (example)
  • Embed the Youth Voting Guide for a particular state on your website (ex. Idaho)
  • Share a direct link to the Youth Voting Guides on your TurboVote Hub: [yourURL].turbovote.org/preregister/guide
  • Share a direct link to a specific state’s Youth Voting Guide, e.g. Alabama: [yourURL].turbovote.org/preregister/guide/al

Messaging and Graphics

Visit the 2025 Local Elections Toolkit for more content ideas and graphics you can share with your audience.

User Data and Insights

Analytics about Preregister to Vote users are available in the Youth User Dashboard.

When you log into the Admin Console, you’ll see a tab on the left called “Youth User Dashboard”. 

Click on that tab and you’ll see the Youth User Dashboard, which displays overall users, and signups by state and by referral code. You can filter by signup date and state.

You can also view individual-level teen user data in the Youth User Export tab. Access to this export is restricted to partners that meet certain criteria in order to protect the safety and privacy of users.

Data Privacy

We’ve taken a number of approaches to protect the privacy of TurboVote accounts created by users aged 13-17 to Preregister to Vote (“Youth Accounts”).

Youth Accounts are stored separately from existing TurboVote accounts created by users who are eligible to vote (i.e., those already aged 18). TurboVote Partner Admins can view aggregate-level Youth user details in the Youth User Dashboard.

Youth Accounts only store a limited amount of personally identifiable information, restricted to the user’s: 

  • legal name, and optional preferred name
  • address
  • date of birth
  • mobile phone number
  • email address
  • other information including
    • language preference
    • TurboVote partner
    • TurboVote partner referral code used on sign-up
    • embed partner ID
    • embed type
    • embed placement

Individual-level Account information can be accessed by partners on request. 

Partners will be asked to enable multi-factor authentication to access the TurboVote Admin Console and explain how they:

  • use youth user contact info and PII in their voter engagement efforts, including any third party tools used in the process
  • ensure only authorized employees and responsible actors access to youth user PII in partner systems and databases (including third party tools e.g. MailChimp, LiveChat, etc.)
  • secure these systems and databases (ideally with encryption and required two-factor authentication)
  • enable end-users to opt-out of subsequent email and SMS messages

Contact your partner manager to request access to individual-level Youth Account information.

Detailed Youth Accounts can only be accessed by a tightly-restricted set of Democracy Works employees (e.g., TurboVote help desk agents and product development team members) in order to assist users to manage their account.

Review the Democracy Works Privacy Policy for further information.