The 2020 presidential election is November 3, meaning the clock is ticking for voters who need to complete or update their registration. The good news is that there are a ton of services you can use to register to vote online. (You really have no excuse.)
That said, there’s a lot of misinformation out there, including outright fake websites that pretend to be voter registration pages. These are intentionally misleading at best; others are phishing and malware traps.
But don’t let the falsehoods and fakery dissuade you from registering if you need to. Stick to the apps and websites we provide in this post, and you’ll be safe.
Register to vote on social media
Pretty much every social media platform prominently display links to helpful—and real—voter registration websites that will take you less than a minute or two to fill out.
Snapchat
Of all of these apps and platforms, Snapchat is by far the best. You can register directly in the app’s “Register to Vote” portal by clicking on your profile image in the upper-left corner of the screen. The portal also includes tons of built-in voting guides and resources. This year, according to the in-app tally, nearly 1 million people have registered to vote through Snapchat, which speaks to how easy the process is.
Facebook and Instagram
Facebook and Instagram are working to get out the vote and keep voters in the loop via their comprehensive Voting Information Center, where you can register, check your status, look up voting information for your area, and more. Facebook is encouraging registration via pinned links to online registration, and mail-in forms, as well as periodic reminders in your feed. The platform also flags (or even removes) posts with misleading or outright false voting information (though you still shouldn’t trust most of what you see on there).
Instagram, meanwhile, is pushing official Story posts with registration links, and sponsored ads from official voter registration pages will likely show up in your timeline.
According to Facebook, some 2.5 million people have registered to vote via the Voting Information Center. Really, it’s the least they could do for democracy at this point.
Twitter also uses official sponsored ads and banner notifications to help users register. You can also follow @TwitterGov for periodic voting reminders, and you can get state-specific information by DMing the account.
On top of these features, each platform encourages you to post when you’ve registered or voted, which could help encourage others to follow your lead. (You can even add a groovy “Register to Vote” sticker to your Instagram Story—a U.S. exclusive).
Other apps and helpful registration information
Social media isn’t the only shortcut, however. Other apps and websites like YouTube, Discord, Uber, Google Search, and more also include links for completing your voter registration online, and other will surely follow in the coming weeks.
Most of these will take you to an online registration portal like TurboVote, Vote.gov, NCSL.gov, or the US Election Assistance Commission’s mail-in registration forms if you live in one of the few states that do not do online voter registration. All of these are legitimate ways to register to vote.
And hey, since we just dropped pretty much every link you’d need in order to fill out your voter registration online or by mail, I guess that means this post is yet another way to register online. If you’ve read this far, take a minute or two to fill out your registration. And, please, remember to vote on November 3.
This story has been updated to add screenshots and additional information about registering via various social media platforms.