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North Carolina is ahead of the game when it comes
to getting ready for the November 3 General Election
in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. State and local
online voter registration, securely voting by mail, and
the early one-stop voting that has existed here for many
years.
Online and by-mail voter registration—changes for
2020 due to COVID
Eligible voters with a valid North Carolina driver’s
-
ter to vote, update their voter registration address, or
charge for these services. However, you must register or
make any changes at least 25 days before the election.
After that date, applications cannot not be processed
until after the election. As an alternative, you may still
register to vote in person using same-day registration
in your county during the early voting period.
You may also register by mail to vote. Download
and print the form at https://www.ncsbe.gov/Voters/
Registering-to-Vote and mail it to your local Board
application.
Voting by mail—here’s what you need to do
If you’re already registered to vote and wish to vote
by mail, you may do so without needing any reason for
not voting in person. Most people will be able to secure
a mail-in absentee ballot by simply going online and
requesting it. The rules for voting by mail are as follows:
• To receive a mail-in absentee ballot for an election,
a voter or the voter’s near relative (spouse,
brother, sister, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild,
mother-in-law, father-in-law, daughterin
law, son-in-law, stepparent, or stepchild) or
legal guardian, or any member of a multi-parti-
Request Form to request the ballot.
• Voters who are blind or disabled, or who cannot
read or write may receive assistance in completing
the request form. Effective July 1 for the 2020
general election, any member of a multi-partisan
assistance team, or MAT team, may assist
any voter in completing a State Absentee Ballot
Request Form. MAT team members may also
deliver a completed request form to the county
board of elections and serve as a witness for the
casting of an absentee ballot. If the assistance is
provided by someone other than a near relative
or legal guardian, that person’s name and address
must be listed on the State Absentee Ballot
Request Form.
The request for a ballot may be emailed, faxed or
hand-delivered to the voter’s county board of elections
by the voter, near relative or legal guardian, or a
member of a MAT team. The deadline is 5 p.m. on the
Tuesday before the date of the election, or October 27
in this year.
State law requires that mail-in ballots and instructions
for them be ready for distribution 60 days prior to
the election (Sept. 4 in 2020). They will be sent out to
all voters who requested them in a timely manner following
that date, or after having requested them prior
to the Oct. 27 deadline.
One-stop early voting in person—begins Oct. 15
For those who wish to vote in person but do it using
a one-stop early voting polling place, many North Carolina
counties have already announced their schedules
for early voting. The earliest date for one-stop voting
is Thursday, Oct. 15, and early voting will be offered
through Saturday, Oct. 31. Many polling places will be
open every day of that period, but some will be closed
on Sundays.
The State Board of Elections website is updating its
list of early-voting sites in all 100 counties at https://
www.ncsbe.gov/Voting-Options/One-Stop-Early-Voting,
but you might also check with your own county’s Board
of Elections.
Regardless of how you choose to vote, a photo
ID is not required. Although voters in North Carolina
approved a change to the state Constitution in 2018 to
require a photo ID, the amendment has been caught
up in a court challenge and will not be enforced until
it is upheld by the courts. Those who vote by mail will
need the signature of one witness to their marking the
ballot. The requirement used to be two witnesses, but
the number was lowered to one by a vote of the General
Assembly to facilitate voting during the COVID pandemic.
2020 Voter How-to Guide
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/One-Stop-Early-Voting