Beginning Thursday, Oct. 17, voters in all 100 North Carolina counties may begin heading to the polls in person. In recent years, early voting has gained momentum. 

In 2016, 62% of North Carolina voters cast their ballots early, and in 2020, 65% used the early voting method. Numbers are sometimes lower in nonpresidential election years, such as the 2022 general election when 53% of voters used early voting, according to the State Board of Elections. Even so, more North Carolina voters are voting early than are voting on Election Day or by absentee ballot.

Without a pandemic, the figure for early voting in 2024 may decrease from four years ago, but early voting is still critical to the overall election season. Here’s what you need to know before casting your vote. 

Who is eligible for early voting? 

Under North Carolina law, anyone who is eligible to vote may choose to vote early. 

When does early voting start and end? 

Early voting begins Thursday, Oct. 17. It ends at 3 p.m. on the Saturday before Election Day, Nov. 2. 

Many early voting sites are open 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekdays and some weekends, but some differ in hours or days. To figure out when your county’s early voting sites are open, use this State Board of Elections website tool or visit your county board of elections website. 

Counties impacted by Tropical Storm Helene may have less uniform hours than other counties and could have some late changes in early voting sites. 

Where do I go to vote during early voting? 

Voters can use the same State Board of Elections tool to find out where early voting will happen in their counties. 

A majority of North Carolina counties use their county board of elections office as one early voting site, but not all do. 

Generally, county boards of election may use any taxpayer-supported government building or school for early voting, and may ask permission to use additional sites, such as churches. 

What is same-day voter registration?

The normal deadline to register to vote in North Carolina passed on Friday, Oct. 11. However, anyone who missed the deadline has one more chance — same-day registration. 

State law allows North Carolina residents to register to vote and cast their votes on the same day during early voting. Interested people must fill out a voter registration application, provide proof of residence using an approved document that lists their current name and address and present acceptable photo identification. 

Under the federal Help America Vote Act, acceptable documents to prove residency include current utility bills, bank statements, government checks, paychecks or other government documents. HAVA also permits voters to use a current document issued from the institution that issued the photo identification they show at the time of voting. 

After following these steps, voters cast a retrievable ballot. 

Within two days, the county board of elections will verify their driver’s license or social security number, update the statewide voter registration database, search for duplicate voter registrations and verify the voters’ addresses by mailing them a notice. 

If the notice comes back as undeliverable, the ballot will be removed from the count. But if it is delivered, the voter’s ballot will count. 

Voters already registered in the county may also update their address and name at an early voting site. 

What do I need to vote early? 

Voters who are already registered need the same information to vote early as they would if they voted in-person on Election Day. 

They must present valid photo identification, or fill out a photo identification exception form. 

Photo ID exceptions include “reasonable impediments” like lost or stolen IDs, disability, illness and school or work schedules, religious objections to being photographed and being a victim of a natural disaster within 100 days before Election Day that was a state or nationally declared disaster. 

Both Tropical Storm Debby and Tropical Storm Helene count under this rules. If North Carolina residents lost their IDs while traveling to another area affected by a declared disaster, such a Central Florida during Hurricane Milton, that would also count.

What will happen when I show up for early voting?

After entering the county board of elections office or other early voting site, an election official will check you in. 

You will tell them your name and address, as well as present your photo identification. The official will repeat the information back to you. 

Then, you’ll go to a private voting booth or room to fill out a ballot. After you’re done, you’ll put it in the voting tabulator to be scanned, with the help of an election official.  

Who oversees early voting? 

Each early voting site has a chief judge and judge, as well as election assistants when possible. The chief judge is responsible for the transfer of ballots and voting materials, as well as directing other judges and assistants. Each site has two judges, who are registered voters from different political parties.

Chief judges, judges and assistants work together to check in voters, issue ballots, handle provisional ballots, monitor the voting site, make sure only official ballots are inserted into tabulators and otherwise enforce election law. 

The chair of each political party in a county can also appoint political observers to oversee early voting and ensure election integrity. 

Who’s on my ballot? 

Voters can find who is on their ballot using the State Board of Elections’ sample ballot tool. 

They must enter their name to access their voter record, which includes a link to a sample ballot for their precinct.

Ballots are different depending on where you live because of legislative districts and boundaries for county offices. As a result, it’s possible that you will see TV ads or yard signs for candidates in your area who are not on your ballot. 

What if I vote early, but change my mind?

Voters who cast their ballots at an early voting site may not cancel their votes to vote again on another early voting day or Election Day. 

One of the risks of voting early is not being aware of any last-minute news about candidates or political parties that occurs before Election Day.

However, for many voters this is offset by the ability to lock in their votes early, avoiding any last-second events on Election Day that might keep them from getting to the polls. 

What if I requested an absentee ballot, but want to vote in person instead? 

Voters who requested absentee ballots may vote early in person if their county board of elections has not received their completed absentee ballot. 

If a voter decides to vote in person instead, they should call their county board of elections to “spoil,” in other words cancel, their original absentee ballot. 

If a county board of elections has already received a completed absentee ballot from a voter, and that voter attempts to vote in-person at an early voting site or on Election Day, they will appear in the system as having voted already and will not be permitted to do so again. 

Each day of early voting, county boards of election will report the number of absentee ballots that have been spoiled in this way. 

What if I recently moved to NC, or a new county?

New North Carolinians who have lived in the state or their new county for at least 30 days are eligible to vote. 

If these voters have not registered to vote yet at their new address, they can use same-day registration at an early voting location to do so. They must bring the required documentation, including a HAVA document and photo identification. 

If voters can do this, they will be able to cast a non-provisional ballot, according to state law. 

How do I know early voting is secure?

The same security measures in place for Election Day are established during early voting. 

Each ballot has a paper trail, which can be audited or recounted. Voters must show a valid photo ID or fill out an exception form. Voting machines do not connect to the Internet. Bipartisan, trained election officials oversee the election process from start to finish. Officials keep logs of every voter who enters the polling site. The State Board has an investigations division to look into any suspicious activity. 

Early voting sites have the same buffer zone as Election Day polling places — a 50-foot distance from the site entrance where people may not obstruct access, advertise for a political party or candidate, among other election activity. 

Anyone can make a challenge during early voting hours on the grounds that a person has already voted, is impersonating someone else; isn’t a resident of the precinct, county or state; isn’t a U.S. citizen, is under 18, is a convicted felon whose rights haven’t been restored or has not presented valid photo ID. 

Challenges are heard by the chief judge and judges, who will check the person’s qualifications to vote. 

How are early votes counted?

Under current state law, votes from early voting are not tabulated until all votes are in at 7:30 p.m. on Election Day. They will be counted simultaneously with Election Day votes. 

This will mean a slight delay in reporting results. 

While nobody has access to early voters’ selections before all results are tabulated, county boards of elections will keep a record of people who vote early to share with the State Board of Elections. 

Two days after Election Day polling sites close, the county board of elections will report the number of provisional ballots cast, including at early voting sites. 

Western NC early voting questions 

Early voting will go on in all Western North Carolina counties impacted by Tropical Storm Helene. 

Many counties will continue to conduct early voting at their boards of elections offices, but any new sites have been updated on the State Board of Elections website and on county boards of elections websites. 

Elections officials have also worked to spread the word using signs, banners and word of mouth in areas still struggling with communications. 

The State Board of Elections approved several emergency measures, which were codified last week by the North Carolina General Assembly. 

By bipartisan majority vote, county boards of election may change early voting sites, days and hours, while keeping voting access as close to existing polling places as possible. 

Voters from 25 counties in the storm-impacted area who cannot or do not want to return to their home counties to vote may request absentee ballots, which they can return to an early voting site in their county, or any county board of elections office or the State Board of Elections by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day. 

State Board of Elections Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell said her agency is working with North Carolina Emergency Management and FEMA to secure generators, portable restrooms and internet access at early voting locations. 

“To carry out this election through such devastation certainly is harder, but our processes are working, and we are just exercising what we know to do and that’s why we’re going to be able to deliver voting to all North Carolinians during the early voting period and on Nov. 5,” she said.

Of the 27 counties within the federal disaster declaration, 25 were identified by the General Assembly for inclusion in these emergency measures. Those counties are Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes and Yancey. Swain and Mecklenburg were part of the federal disaster declaration, but not part of the state’s emergency elections provisions legislation. 

This article first appeared on Carolina Public Press and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Photo by cottonbro studio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-holding-a-sign-4669111/