Hi Callers!

Welcome to Week 1 of 5 Minute Midterms, aka the 5 Calls quick and easy no-nonsense guide to making your vote COUNT this November. This week's assignment is arguably the most basic, most important, most-skipped step in voting:

Check your voter registration

We know what you’re thinking. “Of course I’m registered! I vote every year!” But here's the thing: some states are pretty sneaky about removing eligible voters from the rolls. These purges often disproportionately affect voters from underrepresented communities, but it can happen to anyone. Seriously. (Yes, even you!) Right now, 22 states allow removal from the rolls based solely on a voter's inactivity, and it's not necessarily the states you'd expect—there are plenty of "safe" blue states on that list too. And while we’re not in the business of fearmongering, we don’t want any of you feeling too “safe.”

This is not a minor problem or a rare occurence: the Brennan Center found that more than 19 million voters were purged from the rolls between 2020 and 2022 alone. And earlier this month, 1.2 million Texans were placed on a “voter suspense list.” So even if you've never missed an election, and even if you checked your registration last cycle—check again. Rolls get "cleaned" more often than you'd think.

Check your voter registration status

Maybe you’ve just learned that you’re not registered to vote or that you need to update your info. Good news! You've still got time, but don’t get too comfortable. Every state has their own deadlines, and some might be earlier than you'd expect. So, chop chop!

Week 1 TL;DR

If you're not sure if you're registered to vote? Check.
And if you are sure? Check anyway! There are shenanigans afoot.

Done with the Week 1 action and feeling like you’re just getting warmed up? You’re in luck! We’ve got a couple more to-dos for all you overachievers. (Check out the Extra Credit actions on the site.)

That’s it for now! Stay tuned for Week 2! And remember—we’re not taking any chances this November.

Talk soon,
The 5 Calls Team