Wildcats: Get Ready to Vote!

Northwestern is proud to say that Wildcat registration and voting rates are some of the highest in the nation.

NU Votes is a campus-wide voter engagement initiative designed to help students get registered, get educated, and get to the polls. Northwestern encourages students to be actively engaged in their local and global communities and in civic and political life. One important way to do that is by participating in federal, state, and local elections. Northwestern encourages all students who are eligible to register and vote.

In order to vote, you first must be registered. Students have the legal right to register and vote at either their campus address or their permanent address. Then for each election, you must plan how you will vote – whether you want to vote in person (during early voting or on Election Day), or by mail. If you are voting by mail, you must request, receive, and return an absentee ballot.

You are eligible to vote in U.S. federal elections if you are:

a U.S. citizen
at least 18 years old on Election Day
a resident of your state (sometimes for at least 30 days prior to Election Day)
meet your state's requirements (for example, some states have restrictions on voting if you have a felony conviction or have been declared mentally incapacitated).

Use the NU Voter Services Tool to register to vote for the first time, check, change, or update your voter registration, and/or request an absentee ballot to vote by mail, in any of the 50 states. You'll also be able to access printing, mailing, and other services. Best of all, it only takes a few minutes!

Open the
NU Voter Services Tool

Not eligible (or unsure)? No worries! The tool will walk you through eligibility and also link to additional resources about how any student can be more civically engaged, whether they’re an eligible voter or not.

Learn more! To learn more about the upcoming election, check out NU Votes' 2024 Election Education Guide. Stay tuned for election-related events and programming throughout the fall: visit NUVotes.org or subscribe to the Center for Civic Engagement's Weekly Digest or Grad Student Bulletin.

NU Votes is a non-partisan voter engagement initiative administered by Northwestern University’s Center for Civic Engagement. Northwestern does not endorse or oppose any candidate or organization in connection with any political campaign or election.

Please Note: NU Votes is simply an effort to help students register and vote themselves. Students are responsible for working with their own local election officials to verify local laws and policies about voting in their respective districts, and to ensure that their registration and/or voting materials have been properly processed. If you do not receive accurate registration and/or voting materials from your local election officials in a timely manner, please contact them to follow up.