Need to register to vote? Google can help.

The Republican National Convention in Cleveland this week marked what feels like the true start of the general election. Amid all the coverage and images of confetti and balloons, the convention may stir a thought in the depths of your brain: Am I registered to vote?

If the answer is "No, but I'd like to be," then you're in luck. Google is pushing to get all its users to register to vote. The company is rolling out a new widget that appears in certain search results, such as "How do I vote?" "register to vote" or "online voter registration," to give people the information they need to cast their ballots come November.

It shows you how to register to vote, lists the requirements for registration and also gives you the all-important deadlines for registering.

Why the burst in pushing for civic engagement? In a company statement, Google said it's a matter of customer service: "In the past, we've noticed Google Trends spikes for queries such as 'how do i vote,' 'where do i vote,' and 'voter registration.' So this kicked off an effort to try and organize the information to make it as useful for people as possible."

A Google spokeswoman confirmed the project has been in the works for roughly a year, as part of the company's broader election-related projects.

For example, if you're looking to get a firmer grasp on the positions of the candidates in this election, you can turn into the Republican National Convention, which is being streamed on YouTube, a unit under Google. It's also streaming on Microsoft's Bing and Amazon's Twitch. (Amazon chief executive Jeffrey Bezos is the owner of The Washington Post.) All also will stream the Democratic National Convention next week.