Motivote provides guidance and instructions to users that want to check their voter registration status and get registered to vote, including directing users to the relevant online portal or form for their state. We do not directly register voters, as this is only something that can be done by the relevant election authority.

After an individual submits their registration application form (either on the state’s online portal or by mailed-in or hand-delivered form), their local election officials will process and approve the application. Submitting the form is not the same as registering — it's only an application requesting to be registered.

Therefore, voters shouldn’t assume they are actually registered until it’s verified with their election office. A couple weeks after submitting the application, they can look up their registration status on their state website.

Note that third-party registration status check services, including Motivote, are updated less frequently than state websites because we wait on each state to provide updated files at regular intervals.

We let users know this when going through the check registration process and recommend they check their state website if they very recently submitted a registration application. The Motivote interface shows users the last date their state voter file was provided to us to provide transparency on data “freshness.”