7 States Without Online Voter Registration and What to Do Instead

If you want to vote for the next U.S. president, you must first make sure you are registered.

In all states except North Dakota, where voter registration is not required, voter registration with your local election official is an important step before voting to ensure eligible voters can request and receive a ballot.

Most states allow you to simply register to vote online. However, there is no national process, and registration deadlines and procedures can vary widely from state to state. In addition, seven states require you to register in person or by mail—you cannot register online.

This makes voter registration more difficult, and that is intentional.

“We have simplified voter registration in many states by giving citizens the opportunity to register online. But not all states have done that,” says Jessica Levinson, an election law expert and professor at Loyola Law School.

Why is that? “Those who support greater restrictions tend to say that it protects the process, promotes integrity and prevents fraud. Those who support lowering the barriers to voter registration and voting tend to argue that that’s nonsense and that what this is really about is making it much harder for certain voters to cast their ballots,” Levinson explained.

The use of early voting polling stations, the requirement to issue voter ID and the mail-in voting process are other levers a state “can use to make voting easier or more difficult,” she said.

Just because you can access a voter registration form online doesn’t mean you can submit it online. Depending on your state’s requirements, check whether or not you can actually register online. In Texas, for example, online voter registration is not allowed unless you are renewing your driver’s license at the same time.

A popular video by a Texas resident recently highlighted how confusing the registration instructions can be.

Adrienne Quinn Martin, the chairwoman of the Hood County Democratic Party, said in the video that an online registration form from the Texas Secretary of State could “fool” people. She pointed out that the online form ends with a “Submit” button that could mislead voters into thinking they can register online.

Martin told HuffPost that this “misleading” wording had “annoyed her for years.”

“On Election Day, people call me and say, ‘I’m here, I voted and they say I’m not registered.’ And then I say, ‘Did you register online? Yeah, okay, you didn’t really register,'” she recalls, saying that happened to her own sister.

Since her video was reposted on social media by celebrities like Questlove, the instructions on the application form have changed.

The Texas Secretary of State’s office confirmed to HuffPost that it recently changed the button on the website to read “Continue” instead of “Submit” to “provide additional clarity that you are not submitting the application online, but rather you must print, sign and submit the registration.” The office did not respond to a question about whether this change was due to Martin’s video.

Below is the full list of states where online voter registration is not available, along with what you need to do instead and by when:

In Arkansas, you can register either in person or by mail. The deadlines for both methods are October 7, 2024. The voter registration form is available in English and Spanish, and you can request to have it mailed to you by the United States Postal Service here.

To register in person, you fill out a form at your county clerk’s office. Here is a list that lists county clerks in Arkansas. You are not registered until your county clerk records your registration. In-person registration is recommended on the state’s website as the deadline approaches because it is an “application method that ensures your eligibility.”

If you submit your application form by mail, the date of filing will be the postmark on your application, so it must be no later than October 7, 2024. Contact your local county clerk if you have not received confirmation of your mailed application within two weeks.

The state’s voter registration website states: “Never assume that you are registered to vote until you receive your voter registration card from the county clerk.”

For the upcoming presidential election, you can either register in person at your local county clerk’s office or mail your registration form to your county’s county clerk. The deadline for both options is October 7, 2024. Here is a list of local county clerk locations.

You can fill out and print the voter registration form by mail here, or it can be obtained “at the Secretary of State’s office, public libraries, driver’s license testing centers, county and municipal clerk’s offices, or public schools,” according to the Mississippi Secretary of State’s website.

In Montana, the deadline for voter registration is 30 days before the election, which in the case of the upcoming general election is October 7, 2024.

You can register in person or by mail. Send your completed form to your local county election office by October 7, 2024. Find a list of county election office locations in Montana here.

If you miss this registration deadline, you can still register at a polling station on Election Day, but you will have to wait.

The Missoula County Elections Office states that “we anticipate longer than usual wait times on Election Day, so we encourage you to register before Election Day if possible. Based on previous years, the wait time for voter registration on Election Day could be up to two hours.”

In New Hampshire, you can register to vote in person at your city or town clerk’s office or by mail.

You can register by mail if “you are temporarily out of town or are unable to attend in person due to a disability,” New Hampshire’s official pocket voter handbook says. To do so, you must request a mail-in ballot from your clerk and check a state voter information locator website to see if the clerk has received your request. A mailed form must be received by your local election official no later than six to 13 days before Election Day, depending on which town you live in.

If you miss the deadline, New Hampshire also allows you to register on the same day, which will allow you to register at your polling place on Election Day (November 5, 2024). You will need to prove your identity, age, and citizenship and residency using identification documents listed by the state.

In South Dakota, you can either visit your county auditor’s office in person to fill out a registration form or mail it in. The form must be received by the auditor no later than 15 days before each election, which in the case of the general election is October 21, 2024.

And if you don’t have access to a printer? “Our office and the county auditor’s office frequently mail forms to individuals,” a spokesperson for the South Dakota Division of Elections told HuffPost via email. “You can also come in person and fill out the information.”

In Texas, you must register to vote by October 7, 2024, to participate in the general election. You can do this in person at your local Registrar of Voters or by mail. Here is the list of local registration locations.

If you choose the mail option, you should print a completed application form, sign it, and mail it directly to your county election office. You can also request a stamped voter registration form, which will be mailed to you here.

However, you can register to vote online if you meet the requirements to renew your driver’s license online.

In Wyoming, you have three options for voter registration.

The first option is to fill out a Wyoming voter registration form in person at your county or city clerk’s office. You can find a list of county clerk locations here.

The second option is to mail a completed voter registration form directly to your local county clerk’s office, but you will need to have it notarized before a sworn official. You will also need to include paper photocopies of your identification document.

The deadline for personal and postal registration is October 21, 2024.

If you miss this deadline, you can choose the third option and register at the polling station on Election Day. You must bring an ID – such as a valid driver’s license or an additional ID if you don’t have one – that proves your eligibility to register.

Not only can you register to vote yourself, but you can also help ensure that friends and family members get the help they need, too.

“It’s absolutely true that in some states you just have to make a plan early and rely on others for help as the situation arises,” Levinson said.

If you need help registering to vote, “make plans with a member of your community to get help in the form of a printer or transportation,” she said.

Martin recommended accompanying first-time voters to help them.

“The process is intimidating for first-time voters, especially young people, and then they just don’t go because they’re not sure what to do,” she said. “Take them to the registration, explain to them how to look up the candidates and what’s on the ballot.”