Guiding North Carolina’s voters from information to action
You Can Vote
Early voting in North Carolina starts on October 17 and ends November 2, and Election Day is on November 5.
Use You Can Vote’s voter resources to:
Check your registration and register to vote
See who’s on your ballot
Find information about early voting
Learn about voter ID laws and other requirements
You Can Vote ensures people have the most up-to-date voting information delivered by people they trust — making their work a key component of North Carolina’s news and information ecosystem. You Can Vote was founded in 2014 as a grassroots response to Shelby v. Holder, a Supreme Court decision that struck down key protections of the Voting Rights Act. Recognizing the need for timely, fact-based education in North Carolina, You Can Vote met the moment with tailored, step-by-step guidance for people navigating a complex voting process. The organization quickly expanded its reach, programs, and educational resources to help people grow more confident in where, when, how, and why they vote. A decade later, You Can Vote continues to grow, working to increase voter turnout year over year among the communities facing the largest barriers to the civic process.
Through education and mobilization, You Can Vote helps to increase civic participation across North Carolina, especially among “young people, people of color, low-income people, people who are currently and formerly incarcerated, individuals with disabilities, and new citizens.” You Can Vote works directly with community volunteers, local businesses and organizations, college campus leaders, educators, and more to turn voting into a lifelong habit across North Carolina’s communities.
Here are three ways You Can Vote creates a civic participation movement in North Carolina that extends well beyond major election years.
You Can Vote Civic Fellow Emily from UNC-Greensboro registers a voter on National Voter Registration Day.
Voter with You Can Vote materials at Chapel Hill Pride Promenade.
You Can Vote makes sense of confusing voting laws through clear, accurate information.
“All of the changing voting laws have led to so much confusion for North Carolina voters. As a result, voters lose trust in our democracy, especially those who are historically marginalized by our electoral processes. That’s why it’s so important for us to be out in the field, talking to people, and providing timely, accurate, nonpartisan materials within 48 hours of a change happening.”
North Carolina’s voting rules have a history of changing significantly from one election to the next. You Can Vote tackles this ongoing challenge head-on by providing timely updates on changes in voting laws and what they mean for voters.
The You Can Vote team closely monitors voting policies and rulings, swiftly updating their resources and trainings within days of any changes. Translating complex updates into plain language, You Can Vote then mobilizes its statewide network to amplify clear, accurate information as soon as possible. This proactive approach especially helps people facing barriers to casting a vote — providing trustworthy information and fueling engagement in the voting process.
You Can Vote expands its reach by building partnerships with trusted community members.
You Can Vote recognizes that people are most receptive to voting information when it is delivered by people in their community they know and trust. Through training and partnership programs, You Can Vote equips college campus leaders, high school educators, businesses, nonprofits, and other local leaders to share clear, accurate voting information across the state. Since 2014, You Can Vote has trained more than 6,000 volunteers and 650 partners across 64 counties, directly reaching more than 1 million North Carolina voters with the resources they need to confidently cast their ballots.
In addition to official partnerships, You Can Vote makes its voting resources and trainings freely available to organizations, community leaders, and anyone looking to engage North Carolina’s communities in voter registration and election education. You Can Vote regularly updates its free-to-republish handouts and toolkits, including English and Spanish resources, printable flyers, “Know Your Rights” guides, and training documents. These resources, which are directly informed by community information needs, support news outlets in sharing localized and accurate information about upcoming elections with their readers. The You Can Vote team also talks with reporters to ensure North Carolina’s news outlets have the most up-to-date voting information.
You Can Vote Civic Fellow Charmaine from UNC-Chapel Hill with voter at Juneteenth Black Farmers Market event in Greensboro.
You Can Vote volunteer Joe at Durham Farmers Market.
You Can Vote meets people where they are to foster lifelong voters.
“We are not tied to any one election cycle. We’re trying to enact long-term culture change across the state of North Carolina.”
Low voter engagement is often reduced to voter apathy, but the tens of thousands of conversations You Can Vote volunteers have with eligible voters each year tell a different story. According to You Can Vote — and backed up by research from the Brennan Center — turnout gaps are often due to a lack of information about how the process works and barriers that make it hard for people to participate. You Can Vote finds that when people have the information they need to navigate the process, they are more likely to both cast a ballot in the next election and to make voting a long-term habit.
You Can Vote ensures people understand how to update their voter registration, what information to bring to the polls, and when and where to vote during any given election. Beyond the logistics of the voting process, You Can Vote also helps voters align their votes with their values. Their interactive, online voter guide provides descriptions of each choice that will be on a voter’s ballot. The nonpartisan guide communicates in plain language how that office impacts voters and candidates’ stances on the issues, so that voters can make decisions based on what matters most to them.
A family at Vision Forward School Supply Giveaway in New Bern.
You Can Vote Organizer Lily educates voters at Carrboro Pride Dance Party.
You Can Vote’s work is driving a significant impact in North Carolina. For example, the organization’s longstanding focus on reaching young people in high schools, college campuses, and their communities fuels youth voter registration and engagement. Each year, the team registers thousands of young people to vote, and in 2022, 65% of voters You Can Vote helped to register were under the age of 25. Combined with other efforts, You Can Vote is contributing to a meaningful trend: since the organization was founded ten years ago, youth voter turnout in the state increased by nearly 7 percent.
Additionally, You Can Vote’s extensive organizing and outreach in North Carolina’s jails and detention centers helped more than 1,500 incarcerated people register to vote and facilitated more than 1,350 absentee ballot requests from 2016 to 2022. These efforts are not just increasing voter participation — they’re building a more inclusive democracy in North Carolina.
Get Involved in You Can Vote’s Work
You Can Vote helps communities put relevant and timely voting information into action — creating a direct pathway from civic education to civic engagement. Whether as an individual or part of a larger group, there are several ways to get involved with You Can Vote during the 2024 elections and beyond.
Amplify. Share You Can Vote’s online voting tools with your community. You Can Vote’s voter guide includes information about your ballot, early voting, and how to get registered. And use You Can Vote’s tools to get ready to cast your own ballot.
Volunteer. You Can Vote trains volunteers across North Carolina to help their communities prepare for elections with the resources they need to cast their ballots. Sign up to volunteer here.
Partner. You Can Vote’s Voting Rights Champions are businesses, community organizations, schools, and colleges committed to increasing civic engagement across North Carolina. As part of the Voting Rights Champion network, partners receive free voting resources and communications guidance they can share directly with community members. Learn more about the Voting Rights Champions program here.
Bring Voter Resources to Campus. Through the North Carolina Civic Fellowship Program and ACTIVATE workshops, You Can Vote helps young people turn voting into a habit for life. College students, campus administrators, and high school educators can learn more on the You Can Vote website.