Voting in North Carolina

Election Information
2024 election dates and deadlines
Voting in 2024
Voter registration
Early voting
Absentee/mail-in voting
All-mail voting
Voter ID laws
State poll opening and closing times
Time off work for voting
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Select a state from the menu below to learn more about its voting policies.

The policies governing voter participation are enacted and enforced primarily at the state level. These policies, which include voter identification requirements, early voting provisions, online voter registration systems, and more, dictate the conditions under which people cast their ballots in their respective states.

This article includes the following information about voting policies in North Carolina:

• Voter registration details, including deadlines and eligibility requirements.
• In-person voting details, including identification requirements, poll times, and early voting provisions.
• Absentee/mail-in voting deadlines and rules.
• 2024 election changes in response to hurricanes.
• Details about voting rules for people convicted of a felony.
• Contact information election agencies.
• Summaries of noteworthy policy-related events.

See Election administration in North Carolina for more additional information about election administration in the state, including voter list maintenance policies, provisional ballot rules, and post-election auditing practices.

Do you have questions about your elections? Looking for information about your local election official? Click here to use U.S. Vote Foundation’s election official lookup tool.

Voter registration

The table below displays voter registration information specific to North Carolina's 2024 election cycle.

Eligibility and registration details

Check your voter registration status here.

To register to vote in North Carolina, each applicant must be a United States citizen, a resident of the county in which they are registering to vote for at least 30 days before the election, be at least 16 years old at the time of application and at least 18 years old by the time of the subsequent general election, and not be serving a felony sentence, including probation and parole ^[1][2] The North Carolina voter registration application is available online.

Voter registration applications can be completed online or submitted to the appropriate county board of elections. Applications must be submitted at least 25 days before the election, but voters can also register and vote on the same day during the early voting period, but not on Election Day.^[3]

Voter registration services are also provided by the following agencies:^[4]

• Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV)
• Division of Services for the Blind
• Division of Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
• Division of Health Benefits
• Division of Child and Family Well-Being/WIC
• Division of Social Services
• Division of Rehabilitation Services
• Division of Employment Security (DES)
• Division of State Operated Healthcare Facilities

In-person voting

The table below displays in-person voting information specific to North Carolina's 2024 election cycle.

Poll times

See also: State poll opening and closing times

In North Carolina, polling places are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Any voter who is standing in line at the time polls close must be permitted to vote.^[5]

Voter identification

See also: Voter identification laws by state

North Carolina requires voters to present photo ID when voting.^[6]

Note: According to the Board of Elections website, "On April 28, 2023, the North Carolina Supreme Court reversed an injunction against implementation of photo ID legislation. As a result, photo ID laws enacted in 2018 and 2019 will be implemented moving forward, starting with the municipal elections in September, October, and November 2023. A separate federal case challenging the same laws is pending, but no injunction against the laws exists in that case." The injunction was issued on December 16, 2022.^[6]

The following documents were acceptable forms of identification as of May 2024:^[7]

“

Any of the following that is unexpired, or expired for one year or less: North Carolina driver’s license State ID from the NCDMV (also called “non-operator ID”) Driver’s license or non-driver ID from another state, District of Columbia, or U.S. territory (only if voter registered in North Carolina within 90 days of the election) U.S. Passport or U.S. Passport card North Carolina voter photo ID card issued by a county board of elections (...) College or university student ID approved by the State Board of Elections (...) State or local government or charter school employee ID approved by the State Board of Elections (...) Note: A voter 65 or older may use an expired form of acceptable ID if the ID was unexpired on their 65th birthday. Any of the following, regardless of whether the ID contains an expiration or issuance date: Military or veterans ID card (with photo) issued by the U.S. government Tribal enrollment card (with photo) issued by a tribe recognized by the State of North Carolina or the federal government ID card (with photo) issued by an agency of the U.S. government or the State of North Carolina for a public assistance program (Note: Although this is an acceptable form of ID under North Carolina law, the State Board is not aware of any such ID in circulation that contains a photo. All IDs for voting are required to have a photo.)[8]

”

For a list of acceptable student and public employee IDs, click here.

Early voting

See also: Early voting

North Carolina permits early voting. Learn more by visiting this website.

Early voting permits citizens to cast ballots in person at a polling place prior to an election. In states that permit no-excuse early voting, a voter does not have to provide an excuse for being unable to vote on Election Day. States that allow voters to cast no-excuse absentee/mail-in ballots in person are counted as no-excuse early voting states.

As of February 2024, 47 states and the District of Columbia permitted no-excuse early voting.

Absentee/mail-in voting

See also: Absentee/mail-in voting

The table below displays absentee voting information specific to North Carolina's 2024 election cycle.

All voters are eligible to vote absentee in North Carolina. There are no special eligibility requirements for voting absentee.^[9]

An absentee ballot request form must either be submitted online or by mail before 5 p.m. on the Tuesday before Election Day. Completed ballots must be returned either in person or by mail and received no later than 7:30 p.m. on Election Day.^[9][10]

2024 election changes in response to hurricanes

See also: Election changes in response to hurricanes, 2024

In September and October 2024, two storms—Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton—made landfall in the southeast region of the United States, causing damage and casualties in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.^[11][12][13]

In response to the storms, governors and state election officials in affected states changed certain rules and requirements related to voting in the November 5, 2024, election.

• On October 7, the North Carolina State Board of Elections adopted a resolution that gave election boards in 13 counties greater flexibility to move early voting and Election Day polling places, allowed county officials to adjust early voting hours, extended the deadline for requesting an absentee ballot in person to the day before the election, expanded locations for voters to return absentee ballots, and made other changes.

  On October 10, Gov. Roy Cooper (D) signed the Disaster Recovery Act of 2024 (House Bill 149), which extended election modifications to 25 counties: 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.

Local election officials

Voting rules for people convicted of a felony

See also: Voting rights for people convicted of a felony

In North Carolina, people convicted of a felony temporarily lose the right to vote. This right is automatically restored upon completion of their entire sentence, including prison, parole or probation, and restitution. Although it is not necessary, people convicted of a felony in North Carolina can obtain a Certificate of Restoration of Forfeited Rights of Citizenship to present as proof of completion of their sentence when re-registering to vote. Click here for more information on restoring citizenship rights in North Carolina.^[14]

Voting rights for people convicted of a felony vary from state to state. In the majority of states, people convicted of a felony cannot vote while they are incarcerated but may regain the right to vote upon release from prison or at some point thereafter.^[15]

Election administration agencies

Election agencies

See also: State election agencies

Click here for a list

North Carolina State Board of Elections

Physical Address: Dobbs Building, Third Floor

430 N. Salisbury St

6400 Mail Service Center

Raleigh, NC 27603-1362

Mailing Address: PO Box 27255

Raleigh, North Carolina 27611-7255

Phone: 919-814-0700

Fax: 919-715-0135

Email: elections.sboe@ncsbe.gov

Website: http://www.sboe.state.nc.us/

U.S. Election Assistance Commission

633 3rd Street NW, Suite 200

Washington, DC 20001

Phone: 301-563-3919

Toll free: 1-866-747-1471

Email: clearinghouse@eac.gov

Website: https://www.eac.gov

Noteworthy events

Voter ID requirements (2019-2023)

Background: On November 6, 2018, North Carolinians approved a state constitutional amendment establishing a photo identification requirement for voters. The state legislature, with Republican majorities in both chambers, approved implementing legislation (SB 824) in December of that year, overriding Democratic Governor Roy Cooper's veto. SB 824 was subject to several lawsuits, major developments in which are detailed below.

Current status of the law: Photo ID is required to vote in North Carolina.

State court actions: "On April 28, 2023, the North Carolina Supreme Court reversed an injunction against implementation of photo ID legislation. As a result, photo ID laws enacted in 2018 and 2019 will be implemented moving forward, starting with the municipal elections in September, October, and November 2023. A separate federal case challenging the same laws is pending, but no injunction against the laws exists in that case," according to the state board of elections.^[6]

On December 16, 2022, Justices Anita Earls, Sam Ervin IV, Robin Hudson, and Michael R. Morgan, of the Supreme Court of North Carolina, struck down North Carolina's voter identification law S.B. 824.^[16][17]

Shortly after SB 824 was enacted in 2019, the law's opponents filed suit in the Wake County Superior Court, seeking an injunction to prevent it from being enforced. On July 19, 2019, the court ruled that the plaintiffs had "made sufficient factual allegations to support" their claims. However, the motion for an injunction was declined. The plaintiffs appealed to the North Carolina Court of Appeals, which, on February 18, 2020, found that they "had shown a clear likelihood of success on the merits of their discriminatory-intent claim" and instructed the lower court to grant the plaintiffs' motion for an injunction. The lower court did so and heard oral arguments on the merits in April 2021.^[18]

On September 17, 2021, a three-judge panel of the Wake County Superior Court ruled 2-1 in favor of the plaintiffs, finding that "the evidence at trial [is] sufficient to show that the enactment of S.B. 824 was motivated at least in part by an unconstitutional intent to target African American voters." The court also ruled that "[o]ther, less restrictive voter ID laws would have sufficed to achieve the legitimate nonracial purposes of implementing the constitutional amendment requiring voter ID, deterring fraud, or enhancing voter confident." The court, therefore, permanently enjoined the enforcement of the law.^[19][20]

Federal court actions: On December 21, 2019, Judge Loretta Biggs, of the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, also enjoined North Carolina officials from enforcing the state's voter identification law. However, this was not a final ruling. Biggs' order prevented election officials from enforcing voter identification requirements pending resolution of the case.^[21][22]

On December 2, 2020, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit unanimously reversed the district court's decision, upholding the legality of the voter ID law. Judge Julius Richardson, wrote the following in the court's opinion:^[23]

“

We do not doubt ... that there is a long and shameful history of race-based voter suppression in North Carolina. But we made clear in McCrory that our holding did not 'freeze North Carolina election law in place.' The district court failed to adhere to our admonishment and the Supreme Court’s unmistakable commands in Abbott. Instead, it considered the North Carolina General Assembly’s past conduct to bear so heavily on its later acts that it was virtually impossible for it to pass a voter-ID law that meets constitutional muster. In doing so, the district court improperly reversed the burden of proof and disregarded the presumption of legislative good faith. And the remaining evidence in the record fails to meet the Challengers’ burden. For these reasons, the district court abused its discretion in issuing the preliminary injunction.[8]

”

Voter residency requirements (2018)

On August 8, 2018, Judge Loretta Copeland Biggs, of the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, invalidated a state statute permitting one voter to challenge the residency status of another, finding that the statute contravened the National Voter Registration Act. The case was initiated by the NAACP and others, who alleged that the practice disproportionately targeted black voters. Leah Kang, an attorney for the plaintiffs, praised Biggs' ruling: "By purging dozens and sometimes of hundreds of voters at a time based on returned postcards, the state was disenfranchising eligible voters and violating federal law. This ruling ensures an end to this illegal practice." Jay Delancy, North Carolina's director for the Voter Integrity Project, whose volunteers initiated the residency challenges in question in an attempt to reduce the probability of voter fraud, said, "We followed North Carolina law scrupulously in filing more than 6,000 individualized voter challenges in 2016 and the local election boards acted properly in sustaining those challenges."^[24][25]

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See also

• State of Election Administration Legislation Reports
• Voter ID in North Carolina
• Election administration in North Carolina
• Ballot access requirements for political candidates in North Carolina

Elections in North Carolina

• North Carolina elections, 2025
• North Carolina elections, 2024
• North Carolina elections, 2023
• North Carolina elections, 2022
• North Carolina elections, 2021
• North Carolina elections, 2020
• North Carolina elections, 2019
• North Carolina elections, 2018
• North Carolina elections, 2017
• North Carolina elections, 2016
• North Carolina elections, 2015
• North Carolina elections, 2014

External links

• Official state election website
• U.S. Vote Foundation election official lookup tool

Footnotes

	v • e State of North Carolina Raleigh (capital)
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