Find your official sample ballot
The short answer
A sample ballot is the official preview of the contests and measures in your precinct. Local election offices publish it, usually a few weeks before an election, and it is the only ballot preview worth trusting.
Go straight to the official source
Official source
Check your registration through Can I Vote
State-run lookup directory maintained by the association of state chief election officials.
Check your registration through Can I Vote
This link leaves WomanVoters and opens the official site. We never ask for the personal details the official system requires.
Official source
Find your state or territory election office
Contact directory for the office that administers elections where you live.
Find your state or territory election office
This link leaves WomanVoters and opens the official site. We never ask for the personal details the official system requires.
What a sample ballot is
It is the official preview of your ballot, produced by the office that prints the real one. Depending on the jurisdiction it arrives in the mail, appears in a legal notice, or is generated for you by an online lookup after you enter your address on the official site.
What it shows
- Every federal, state, and local contest you are eligible to vote in.
- Ballot measures, bond questions, and retention or judicial elections, usually with the official summary text.
- The instructions for marking and returning the ballot in your jurisdiction.
- Sometimes the full text of a measure, or a link to the official analysis.
What it does not show
It does not show who is likely to win, who a group supports, or which candidate filed a federal campaign finance report. Filing a report with the Federal Election Commission is a separate act from qualifying for a state ballot, a distinction we explain in our campaign finance records guide.
Do not use an unofficial replica
We do not publish a ballot replica, and you should be careful with any site that does. A replica can be out of date after a court order, can omit a local contest, and can be built to look official while promoting a slate. Use the file your election office publishes.
Reading a ballot measure without spin
Measure titles are written under state rules and are sometimes contested in court. When you read one, look for the official summary, the fiscal note if your state prepares one, and the full text. Then check which office would carry the measure out if it passes, which is the question our issues section is built around.
Questions worth asking your election office
- When is the sample ballot for my precinct published, and where?
- Does this jurisdiction mail a sample ballot or voter guide, and to which address?
- Is the full text of each ballot measure available, and is there an official fiscal analysis?
- If a court changes the ballot after publication, how is that announced?
What the official record shows
Ballots are local, down to the precinct
Two neighbors on opposite sides of a street can receive different ballots, because school districts, water districts, judicial districts, and municipal lines rarely align. That is why the sample ballot comes from the county or municipal office rather than a statewide page.
A candidate list is not a candidate endorsement
The official sample ballot shows who qualified for the ballot under state law. It says nothing about who filed with the Federal Election Commission, who is favored, or who any organization supports.
Our perspective
Down ballot offices decide more than most people expect
School boards, county commissions, prosecutors, sheriffs, and judges shape schooling, policing, public health, and family court outcomes. Reading the whole ballot before Election Day is the cheapest way to stop skipping the offices that touch daily life.
This panel states what we believe. It is labeled, it is separate from the record above, and it never changes the voting instructions on this site.
The strongest argument against our view
A reasonable objection is that no voter can research thirty contests carefully, and that skipping unfamiliar races is more honest than guessing. We agree that guessing is not a civic duty. Reading the sample ballot in advance simply turns an unfamiliar race into a question you can look up.
What remains uncertain
Publication timing varies. Some offices post a sample ballot weeks ahead, others only days ahead, and a late court ruling can change what appears on the final ballot.
Sources
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National Association of Secretaries of State
State-run lookup directory maintained by the association of state chief election officials.
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USAGov, General Services Administration
State and territory election offices
Contact directory for the office that administers elections where you live.
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USAGov, General Services Administration
How to vote in the United States
Federal overview of in-person voting, including how assignments are published.
Change history
This page has not been substantively changed since it was published on August 29, 2026.
Found an error? Report it and read the correction log.
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