Toolkit: Voter Registration and Equitable Access to Elections

Published: 3/4/2026

ACP recognizes the connection between an inclusive democracy, expanded civic participation, and positive health outcomes. The College supports policies that ensure safe and equitable access to voting and encourages health care professionals and their patients to vote.

Background

In December 2023, the Annals of Internal Medicine published Ensuring Equitable Access to Participation in the Electoral Process: A Policy Brief From the American College of Physicians, which seeks to inform physicians, medical students, and other health care professionals on the links between electoral processes and health; encourage civic participation; and offer policy recommendations to support safe and equitable access to electoral participation to advance health equity for both patients and health care professionals. This paper responded to two Board of Regents-approved resolutions calling on the College to develop policy addressing partisan gerrymandering and supporting health care-sponsored voter engagement. ACP recognizes that health and electoral processes are directly connected through the institution of policies by ballot initiative, such as Medicaid expansion, and the election of officials who incorporate health into their platforms. They are also indirectly connected, as civic participation connects individuals to their community and empowers them with agency in decision making.

ACTION:

  • ACP is a partner with Vot-ER, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working to integrate civic engagement into healthcare, to encourage members to get involved in encouraging civic participation. ACP encourages members to facilitate patient voter registration, confirm their voter registration status, and check registration and election dates in their state.
    • Note: The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 allows health care facilities to facilitate nonpartisan voter registration for interested patients.  Patients choose whether to use Vot-ER’s platform and when they do so, they share information on their own mobile devices. Thus, voter information is not subject to HIPAA regulations.
  • ACP is a national Health & Democracy partner. Health & Democracy is a nonpartisan initiative supported by the Institute for Responsive Government with the goal of improving health by promoting an inclusive, representative democracy. Learn about the initiative and find relevant research and reports here.
  • Voting Rights Lab: Learn about voting rights and election administration laws and legislation in your state.
  • Vote.gov: Check your registration status, polling location, and register/change your registration

Upcoming Election Dates

In 2026, elections will be held in all U.S. states. Elections for the entire U.S House of Representatives will take place in November, in addition to many other federal, state, and local offices. Primary elections begin in some states as early as March. Find a list of all upcoming primary elections here.

In preparation for the next election, you can check to make sure your registration is up to date and confirm your polling location here.

Federal Activity

In 2025 and 2026, there have been several attempts to implement restrictive voting policies and encroach on states’ constitutional authority to administer elections. The SAVE America Act seeks to require individuals to provide documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote and requires photo identification to vote in federal elections. Proponents of this bill and other federal actions claim that they are necessary to prevent voter fraud, but evidence indicates voter fraud in U.S. elections is miniscule and many safeguards are already built into electoral systems. ACP is working to protect ballot access by opposing federal attempts to implement unnecessary and discriminatory barriers to registration and voting.

State Activity

According to the Brennan Center for Justice, at least 16 states enacted 31 restrictive voting laws in 2025, 30 of which will be in effect for the 2026 elections. During this same period, at least 25 states enacted 30 expansive voting laws. Between the 2020 and 2024 presidential elections, at least 30 states enacted 78 restrictive laws, almost doubling the number of restrictive laws enacted in the prior two presidential election cycles combined.

ACP policy supports the following legislative actions:

  • Holiday designations for Election Day(s)
  • Expanded polling locations and/or hours
  • Automatic Voter Registration
  • Same-day voter registration
  • The drawing of fair electoral districts by nonpartisan electoral commissions
  • Re-enfranchisement of individuals with felony convictions upon completion of their sentence

ACP policy opposes the following legislative actions:

  • Restricting access to mail-in ballots
  • Burdensome and discriminatory ID requirements
  • Limiting polling locations and/or hours
  • Partisan gerrymandering

References