The State Board of Elections is stressing to absentee voters that they must act soon to ensure their ballot is counted, if they have not yet returned their ballot.
Due to a state law passed last year, a voter’s absentee ballot must arrive at the county board of elections by 7:30 pm on Election Day, which is this upcoming Tuesday, Nov. 5. Previously, an absentee ballot could be counted if it was postmarked by Election Day and arrived within three days after Election Day. There is no more “mail grace period,” however. Absentee ballots must arrive by Election Day.
Because this is the first general election under the new absentee ballot deadline, the State Board is stressing to all absentee voters who have not turned in their ballots to act now.
“North Carolinians who are voting by mail should not wait any longer to turn in their ballot,” said Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the State Board. “Under the new law, your county board must have your ballot in hand by Election Day to count it.”
If an absentee voter wants to use the U.S. Postal Service to mail their ballot in, they should do so today. There are only a few days remaining for the ballot to make it to the county board office.
If a voter (see note at the end for special rules for voters displaced by Helene) is unable to put their ballot into the mail today, they still have options.
The voter or their near relative can:
- Send their ballot overnight or express using the postal service or a private delivery service. It must be addressed to the voter's county board of elections.
- Hand-deliver the ballot to any early voting site in the county where the voter is registered to vote. The in-person early voting period ends at 3 p.m. Saturday. For sites and schedules, see Early Voting Site Search.
- Drop their ballot off at their county board of elections office during operating hours by 7:30 p.m. Nov. 5. For county board address and contact information, see County Board of Elections Search.
Under state law, a “near relative” is a spouse, brother, sister, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, mother-in-law, father-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, stepparent, or stepchild. If a voter needs assistance returning their ballot due to a disability, such a disabled voter may designate any person to return their ballot.
Of course, the voter may decide to vote in person instead, either at an early voting site in the voter’s county or at the voter’s Election Day precinct voting site. If they do so, they may simply discard their unused absentee ballot. The state elections system will not allow an absentee ballot to be accepted if the same voter has voted in person, because it is illegal to vote twice.
In-person early voting runs through Saturday, Nov. 2. Sites and schedules vary by county. To view county-by-county schedules, use the Early Voting Site Search tool.
Election Day is Nov. 5. Polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. To find your Election Day polling place, use the Voter Search tool.
Special note for voters displaced by Helene:
If a voter has been displaced by Helene, they can drop off their ballot at any early voting site in the state, the State Board of Elections, or at any county board of elections office in the state. The voter must be from one of the 25 counties in the elections disaster area. The deadline to deliver the ballot to one of these locations is 7:30 pm on Election Day. For more information about voters affected by Helene, see ncsbe.gov/Helene.