I moved dorms or apartments. Do I need to update my voter registration?
Yes. Register again at your new address, by your state's normal registration deadline. If you moved within the same election jurisdiction and the deadline has passed, federal law still lets you correct your record and vote after affirming your new address.
Last reviewed Jul 25, 2026. Every date below comes from VoteU's election dataset, checked against state election authorities' own pages. VoteU is an independent nonpartisan project, not a government site.
Do it the same way you registered the first time
- 1Open your state's official registration portal from your VoteU state page.
- 2Submit a registration with the new address. In most states there is no separate change-of-address form; re-registering is the update.
- 3Include your previous address where the form asks, so the old record is superseded rather than left active.
- 4If you get mail ballots, update your mailing address too. Those are two different fields, and updating one does not always update the other.
- 5Confirm on your state's official voter lookup that the new address is showing before the deadline.
If you missed the deadline and moved locally
Under the National Voter Registration Act, a registered voter who moves within the same registrar's jurisdiction must be permitted to correct the voting records and vote, at their former polling place or at a central location the registrar designates, after affirming the new address orally or in writing (52 U.S.C. § 20507(e)). A handful of states are exempt from that part of the law because they had election day registration or no registration requirement when it took effect, and in practice those states let you fix your address when you vote. Check your state's official page for how it handles this.
If you moved to a different county or state
That is a new registration, not an address correction, and the fail-safe rule above does not cover it. Treat the deadline in the table below as a hard date. If you moved out of state entirely and missed it, ask your former county whether you are still eligible to vote there for this election.
Registration deadlines for the November 3, 2026 general election
Primary sources
Common questions
- I moved to a new room in the same building. Do I still need to update?
- Update it anyway. Your polling place will not change, but an accurate record keeps your mail and any ballot pointed at the right unit, and it removes any question about your address on election day.
- Can I just tell the poll worker my new address?
- If you moved within the same registrar's jurisdiction, 52 U.S.C. § 20507(e) says you must be permitted to correct the record and vote after affirming the new address. If you moved to a different jurisdiction, that protection does not apply and you need to register by the deadline.
- Does moving cancel my registration?
- Not immediately. Under 52 U.S.C. § 20507(d) a state generally cannot remove you for a change of address unless you confirm the move in writing, or you fail to respond to a notice and then do not vote through two federal general elections.
- I am moving home after graduation. What do I do?
- Register at your new address once you are living there. Until you do, your registration stays at your campus address, which means a ballot mailed to a place you no longer live.
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