RISD Votes

Become part of RISD’s voting community
At RISD we encourage students, faculty, staff and alumni to participate in the democratic process. This includes voting in elections. RISD Votes is a nonpartisan, institution-wide effort to educate, facilitate voter registration and get our community out to vote in local, state and national elections.
How to vote
- Find voter registration rules and deadlines for your state.
- Explore ways to get involved and stay informed during this election season.
- Learn about early and absentee voting at usa.gov.
Partner with us
If you or your student organization want to participate in the CCP’s nonpartisan voter engagement and education initiatives, email us at community@risd.edu.
Important 2023 voting milestones
- Constitution Day—September 17
- National Voter Registration Day—September 19
Voting and voter registration
TurboVote
TurboVote is a free online tool that helps you cast your ballot and exercise your right to vote. Sign up to receive election reminders, register to vote, apply for your absentee ballot and more.
Democracy Works
Democracy Works offers helpful, reliable information about voter registration and voting, searchable by state.
Rhode Island residents
If you are a Rhode Island resident, go to vote.sos.ri.gov for election information (including registration, updating voter information, finding local polling locations, previewing sample ballots, etc).
The RI Department of State also offers rivotes.org, a peer-to-peer video guide to voting in Rhode Island.
Out-of-state residents
Register to vote online using TurboVote. Registration deadlines vary by state.
You can also click here to learn how to request mail ballots from your home state.
Eligibility support
Can I Vote
An initiative of the National Association of Secretaries of State, Can I Vote helps eligible voters learn how and where to vote.
Rhode Island voter information
Unsure if you are registered to vote in Rhode Island? The secretary of state's voter information center can help with you with several aspects of the registration and voting process, including:
- finding out if you are registered.
- learning how to register.
- identifying your party preference.
- finding your polling place.
Learning resources
BallotReady
BallotReady brings together information from every level of government—from federal to local—to provide transparency and help voters make informed decisions about candidates and referendums.
Pew Research Center
Politics and policy information from the nonpartisan Pew Research Center, which gathers and provides info to the public about important issues, attitudes and trends.
Nonpartisan policy
Rhode Island School of Design is committed to free and open discussion of ideas and opinions. As part of its dedication to active citizenship, the institution encourages students, faculty and staff to exercise their civic right to participate as individuals in the political process. At the same time, no member of the institution community should feel any institutional pressure to support a particular candidate or position.
RISD is a tax-exempt entity, prohibited by federal law from participating in or attempting to influence campaigns for any elective public office or any political initiative. The institution may not endorse a candidate or ballot proposal, provide or solicit financial or other support for candidates or political organizations, or establish political action committees.
For more information contact the Center for Community Partnership at community@risd.edu.