Can I vote where I go to college if I am from another state?

Why the choice is yours

Election officials cannot treat you as a non-resident just because you are a student. In Symm v. United States, 439 U.S. 1105 (1979), the Supreme Court summarily affirmed a ruling that a Texas county registrar violated the Twenty-Sixth Amendment by singling students out with a residency questionnaire that asked whether they intended to stay in the county after graduation.

States still write their own residency rules, and those rules are what decide your case. VoteU's dataset flags 2 of the 51 jurisdictions it covers, Florida and Texas, as applying tighter residency scrutiny to student registrations. If you are at school in one of those, read that state's own guidance before you register at a campus address.

Pick one place, then commit

1. 1Decide which ballot matters more to you: the city, county, and state where you live nine months a year, or the one back home.
2. 2Register in that one place only. Voting more than once in the same federal election carries a fine of up to $10,000, up to five years in prison, or both (52 U.S.C. § 10307(e)).
3. 3If you choose your campus state, register through that state's official portal. Every state page on VoteU links straight to it.
4. 4If you choose home, stay registered there and request a ballot early. See how to request an absentee ballot as a student.
5. 5Put the registration deadline in your calendar the day you decide, not the week of the election.

What you gain by registering at school

• Local ballots decide the things that touch your life off campus: rent and zoning rules, transit, policing, county prosecutors, school boards.
• Your campus state's federal races are on the same ballot, so registering locally does not cost you a vote for U.S. Senate or U.S. House.
• You can vote in person, which sidesteps the request deadlines, mail delays, and signature rules that snag absentee ballots.

What you give up

• Your home state's races come off your ballot, including any local measure you were following there.
• If you move after graduation you will need to register again at your new address.
• In states that apply stricter scrutiny to campus addresses, you may be asked for extra documentation.

Registration deadlines for the November 3, 2026 general election