As a college student in North Carolina, you have options for where you register and vote. If you intend to return to your home county after you graduate, you should register and vote in your home county.
If you don't plan to return home after graduation or aren't sure of your future plans, you can either register and vote in your home county or register and vote in the county where you attend school.
If you do register in the county where you attend school, this will cancel any previous voter registrations. Learn more about registering to vote as a college student at the state board of elections.
You may already be registered to vote in the state of North Carolina.
To check your voter registration status, search for your name in the North Carolina State Board of Elections database.
Do you think you may be registered in another state? Check your registration status through the National Association of Secretaries of State.
To vote in an election, you must be registered to vote. You can register to vote through the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
The deadline for registering to vote in North Carolina is Friday, October 11 at 5 pm.
You can register to vote online through the online voter registration application or in person at a DMV office. You can also register to vote through a mail-in form.
If you already have a North Carolina drivers license or an ID issued by the state Department of Motor Vehicles, you can register to vote or update your registration online.
UNC Charlotte partners with TurboVote, a non-partisan company that guides users through the voter registration process. Once they sign up at charlotte.turbovote.org, the TurboVote software provides users with the information and forms they need to vote in every election.
If you have a valid NC DMV-issued license or ID, you can register to vote online via the DMV website. If you do not have a valid NC DMV-issued license or ID, you will need to submit a paper voter registration application. TurboVote can help with this process.
Completed voter registration forms and absentee ballot applications can be printed on-site or can be mailed to users who require them with pre-addressed, pre-stamped envelopes. The software also sends users text messages and email reminders when registration or voting deadlines are approaching to remind them to get their paperwork in the mail. TurboVote sends registrants a series of personalized election reminders via text and email before important voting deadlines and on election day.
You have to provide a photo ID when voting in North Carolina in the 2024 elections. In addition to a driver's license, there are a variety of other acceptable forms of photo ID, such as a US passport, college or university ID approved by the state board of elections, and other ID cards provided by the county board of elections and the North Carolina DMV.
If you don't have an acceptable form of ID, you can request a free voter photo ID from your county board of elections. You can also get a free ID card from the North Carolina DMV.
If you don't have your acceptable photo ID at the polling place, you can complete an ID exception form and vote with a provisional ballot, or you may vote with a provisional ballot and then go to the county board of elections office with your photo ID by the day before the county canvas (the second Thursday following election day).
For voting by mail/absentee, you must provide a photocopy of your ID (place the photocopy in a pocket on the outside of the ballot container which is then placed in an outer return envelope) with your completed ballot or complete an ID exception form.
Many people vote by mail (also known as voting by absentee ballot). To vote by mail, you must request a ballot from the North Carolina State Board of Elections. Any registered North Carolina voter can request, receive, and vote a mail-in ballot where absentee voting is permitted. You don't need a special circumstance to vote by mail.
You can request a ballot online or by mailing in a physical request form.
Voting by mail involves three steps: requesting an absentee ballot, completing a ballot, and returning your completed ballot. You must also include a photocopy of your photo ID or complete a photo ID exception form with your returned ballot.
The deadline for requesting an absentee ballot in North Carolina is Tuesday, October 29th at 5 pm.
Everyone has a designated polling place to vote in person on Election Day. It's important to know where to vote if you plan on voting on Election Day. If you're registered to vote in North Carolina, search for your polling place at the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
You need a photo ID to vote in North Carolina in 2024.
Many people like to vote early in person to avoid long lines on Election Day.
Early voting in person in North Carolina runs from Thursday, October 17th to Saturday, November 2nd at 3 pm. This is your only opportunity to vote early in person prior to election day on November 5th. To vote early in person, you will have to visit one of the designated early voting sites in your county.
Early voting sites also have same-day registration, meaning that if you haven't registered to vote before, you can register at the early voting site and vote on the same day during the early voting period.
To register at an early voting site, you must have proof of residence (acceptable documents include an NC driver's license, a photo ID issued by a government agency, a utility bill, bank statement, or paycheck showing your name and address, or a current college/university photo ID along with proof of campus residence). You also must have resided in the county where you're registering for at least 30 days prior to Election Day.
