Free Voting Toolkit
Non-Partisan, North-Carolina Specific Resources for Voting in 2024
Did you know there are 7,736,114 Registered Voters in North Carolina this year?
If you’re planning to vote this year, this toolkit is for you.
(Source: NCSBE.gov Oct. 12, 2024)
Contents
Early Voting 2024
Voter ID
Voting After Hurricane Helene
Voting By Mail
Election Day & Voting Hotline
Ballot Research
1. Early Voting 2024
In-Person Early Voting in North Carolina begins on October 17, 2024 and will end on November 2, 2024.
Early Voting locations vary by county. These can be found by visiting the In-Person Early Voting page on the North Carolina State Board of Elections website.
From there you can use the county-specific lookup tool to find early voting locations near you.
Remember, during In-Person Early Voting, eligible voters can vote at any convenient polling place. Voters can also register to vote on the same day they cast their ballot during Early Voting. This process is relatively straight forward and includes filling out a voter registration form along with your ballot.
Early voting is one of the best tools we have for increasing civic participation and strengthening our democracy.
Yes, we get pretty excited about one-stop in-person early voting and we want to share that enthusiasm with you.
Are you an early voter or a Poll worker? We’d love to hear about your experience via our social channels. Connect with us online and we promise to respond!
2. Voter ID
In 2024, you’ll need Photo ID to vote in NC. For many North Carolina voters, this is a new requirement and a burden. There are exceptions and ways to ensure your vote is counted even if you forget your ID. Check out this video, and read on to learn more.
Here’s what you need to know:
Voters can use certain existing photo IDs as Voter ID. This includes things like a North Carolina Driver’s License, U.S. Passport, Tribal ID, and more (see the list below). Voters can also get a free voter ID from their County Board of Elections.
There is a yellow Voter ID Exceptions Form that must be filled out for voters with a valid exception to the Photo ID requirement. This includes victims of a natural disaster occurring within 100 days of an election.
For reliable information on what qualifies as Voter ID and what exceptions exist, visit the Voter ID page on the North Carolina State Board of Elections website. Here’s what they say:
Acceptable Photo IDs for Voting
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 (see Get a Free Voter Photo ID)
College or university student ID approved by the State Board of Elections (see box below)
State or local government or charter school employee ID approved by the State Board of Elections (see box below)
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
Source: NCSBE.gov
List of Acceptable Photo ID for voting in North Carolina. This list is seen printed on the Voter ID Exception Form provided with Mail In Ballots in NC, 2024. Learn More at NCSBE.gov
A little background on Voter ID laws:
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was gutted by the US Supreme Court in 2018. In Shelby County v. Holder, the Supreme Court ruled to remove the requirement for federal approval of new voting policies.
Since then, many states, including North Carolina, have re-instituted voting restrictions that amount to coordinated voter suppression.
The push for voter ID laws in North Carolina gained momentum among the Republican-controlled State Legislature in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Supporters of these laws argued that they would help prevent voter fraud - a virtually non-existent crime.
Voter ID laws disproportionately impact minority voters and serve as another form of voter suppression.
2013 Voter ID Law: North Carolina passed a comprehensive voter ID law in 2013 that imposed strict requirements for obtaining a voter ID. This law was subsequently challenged in court, and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals struck it down in 2016, finding that it had a discriminatory impact on African American voters.
2018 Constitutional Amendment: North Carolina voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2018 that required the state to implement a voter ID law.
2023 Supreme Court Ruling: In 2023, the North Carolina Supreme Court upheld the state's voter ID law, ruling that it did not violate the state constitution.
Ongoing Debates and Challenges
The implementation of voter ID laws in North Carolina continues to be a subject of debate and legal challenges. Critics argue that these laws can create barriers to voting for all, but especially for marginalized communities, including individuals who may lack access to identification documents or face transportation difficulties.
In the absence of substantive evidence of widespread election integrity issues, it’s hard to hear supporters of voter ID laws talk about preventing voter fraud.
At Civility Localized we believe it is vitally important to consider the historical context of voting in North Carolina, and the impacts voting restrictions have on different groups of voters. Democracy depends on participation and unnecessary voting restrictions do nothing to improve participation numbers.
3. Voting After Hurricane Helene
In response to the incredible devastation in Western North Carolina from Hurricane Helene, the North Carolina State Boad of Elections published an entire page on their website with information for Hurricane-Impacted Voters.
Here’s what you need to know:
On September 29th, President Biden granted North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper’s request for a Federal Major Disaster Declaration for Tropical Storm Helene providing immediate federal help for 25 North Carolina counties and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
Within those 25 counties and Tribal territories, there are 1,277,579 registered voters.
If you or someone you know was impacted by the storms, visit the Helene Recovery And Voting page dedicated to voting information for victims of Hurricane Helene.
One important distinction to make is that North Carolina’s Voter ID law has an exception for voters impacted by a disaster within 100 days of an election. This means if you lost your photo ID or mail-in ballot due to Helene, you can still vote in North Carolina. Be sure to contact your County Board of Elections for a new ballot, and to fill out a Voter ID Exemption Form when you cast your ballot. On that form you’ll have a chance to indicate the reason for your photo ID exemption. You can learn more about this process here.
Please use this information and spread the word to ensure every eligible voter can cast their ballot this year, no matter what.
Emergency Designation
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) declared Tropical Storm Helene a disaster on Sept. 28, 2024. The designated disaster area initially included 25 counties and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Area across three counties in North Carolina. More areas continue to be added based on damage assessments. Here is a map and list of the impacted areas as of October 12, 2024:
Tropical Storm Helene designated disaster area in Western North Carolina (Source: FEMA)
Alexander
Alleghany
Ashe
Avery
Buncombe
Burke
Caldwell
Catawba
Cherokee (Tribal Area)
Clay
Cleveland
Gaston
Graham (Tribal Area)
Haywood
Henderson
Jackson
Lincoln
Macon
Madison
McDowell
Mitchell
Polk
Rutherford
Swain (Tribal Area)
Transylvania
Watauga
Wilkes
Yancey
UPDATE
As of October 16, 2024, more areas have been added to the list: FEMA Adds Twelve North Carolina Counties to Disaster Area Eligible for Relief
From the Press Release:
Homeowners and renters in Cabarrus, Cherokee, Forsyth, Graham, Iredell, Lee, Nash, Rowan, Stanly, Surry, Union and Yadkin Counties who had uninsured damage or losses caused by Tropical Storm Helene are now eligible to apply for FEMA disaster assistance. The quickest way to apply is to go online to DisasterAssistance.gov. You can also apply using the FEMA App for mobile devices or calling toll-free 800-621-3362.
4. Voting By Mail
Voting by mail in North Carolina takes three simple steps — requesting, completing, and returning a mail-in ballot.
And in even more good news, any North Carolina registered voter may request, receive, and vote a mail-in absentee ballot. There are no special reasons or requirements for requesting a mail-in ballot. Voters can track their absentee ballots in the 30 days leading up to the election. To track your absentee ballot from the time you request it, to the time it is returned, sign up for status notifications through BallotTrax.
Voting by mail is secure and effective. It can remove barriers to voting for those with time, transportation, and mobility challenges. Of course, it still requires work, and we’re here to tell you just what you need to know.
What you need to know:
Mail in Ballots must be RECEIVED by 7:30pm on Election Day, November 5th, 2024. This means mailing it back prior to the deadline is important.
In years past, voters had more leeway when returning ballots. It’s no longer enough to have a mail-in ballot postmarked by Election Day. Instead, the US Postal Service encourages absentee voters to return their mail-in ballots at least a week before Election Day (or October 29th) to ensure timely arrival at Boards of Election.
If you find yourself with an absentee ballot that needs to be submitted on Election Day (November 5), drop it off at your County Board of Elections before 7:30pm to ensure your vote is counted.
Ballot Curing:
About half of states, including North Carolina, have a process in place to help voters fix their mail-in ballots if they do make a mistake. This is known as ballot curing and you’ll want to to be sure to address any issues if there’s an opportunity to do so.
North Carolina requires county boards of elections to promptly contact a voter about a curable defect, and to explain how a voter can cure their ballot
To get started, request your absentee ballot today: VoteByMail.NCSBE.gov
5. Election Day & Voting Hotline
Election Day is November 5, 2024.
If you are voting on Election Day (November 5), remember that you will have to find your designated polling place and go during voting hours (6:30am - 7:30pm) to cast your ballot.
What you need to know:
Voting takes time. Get in line and stay in line. Even if the polls close, voters in line before closing time have the right to cast their ballots.
Look up your polling place (in any state) here: Vote411.org
In North Carolina, Polling places will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Election Day (11/5/2024).
Any voter in line at their assigned polling place at 7:30 p.m. will be able to vote.
The busiest times tend to be early in the morning and just before the polls close. Avoid longer lines by voting at off-peak times.
Election Protection Hotlines:
If you encounter issues when voting, call an election protection hotline to get sound advice, and to document your trouble. Here’s a reliable, non-partisan hotline available in a handful of languages:
Election Protection Hotline in English: 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683)
Espanol: 888-VE-Y-VOTA (888-839-8692)
Arabic: 844-YALLA-US (844-925-5287)
Asian Languages*: 888-API-VOTE (888-274-8683) *Bengali, Cantonese, Hindi, Urdu, Korean, Mandarin, Tagalog, Vietnamese
6. Ballot Research
Part of civic engagement is being an informed voter. If you are looking for ways to research your ballot ahead of election day, looking up your sample ballot is one of the best things you can do. Use this free tool from Vote.org to get started now:
Another way to get vote-ready is to read up on non-partisan voter guides.
Here are a few we like:
NC Voter Non-Partisan Voter Guides
Well that’s all for now. I hope this Voting Toolkit proves useful and offers a quick, shareable way to find reliable information as you do your civic duty!
Are you a new voter? A seasoned voter? A civic engagement enthusiast? Consider signing up for our Newsletter, or applying to attend our Civic Impact Academy.
Thanks for reading and sharing this blog. For reference, all information was taken from NCSBE.gov, Vote411.org, Vote.org, NC.gov, and relevant links.
