Voting laws in North Carolina
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Note: Before taking any action, or if you have any questions, contact your state election agency.
The following is an incomplete list elections laws for voting in the State of North Carolina
Polling Hours
North Carolina has polls open from 6:30 AM to 7:30 AM Eastern Time.
General Requirements
To be eligible to vote in North Carolina, you must be:
- A US citizen
- A resident of North Carolina and your county for 30 days before the election
- At least 18 years old by the next general Election
- Not registered nor voting in any other county or state
- The Voter's Right of citizenship restored if he/she were a convicted felon.
Identification Requirements
Identification is required to register to vote in the form of a driver's license number, or the last four digits of a social security number. If the voter does not have either of these, alternate accepted forms of identification include:
- Current and valid photo ID
- Current utility bill
- Bank statement
- Paycheck
- Government check
- Another document that shows the voter's name and address
Identification is required if you are a first time voter who registered by mail and did not provide verification with your application. The same forms of identification listed in the previous section can be used when a voter is at the polling place.
Challenging an Elector
The registration records of each county shall be open to inspection by any registered voter of the county, including any chief judge or judge of elections, during the normal business hours of the county board of elections on the days when the board's office is open. At those times the right of any person to register, remain registered, or vote shall be subject to objection and challenge. [1]
Felon Disqualification
Disqualification of felon. No person adjudged guilty of a felony against this State or the United States, or adjudged guilty of a felony in another state that also would be a felony if it had been committed in this State, shall be permitted to vote unless that person shall be first restored to the rights of citizenship in the manner prescribed by law.[2]
Registration Deadlines
In-Person/By Mail
Voter registration forms must be either postmarked or delivered in person by 5pm 25 days before Election Day.
OR
People with valid photo identification and a proof of address may register and vote during the early voting period (from the third Thursday before the election until the Saturday before the election). "One Stop" registration and absentee voting is available in North Carolina from April 17, 2008-May 3, 2008 at particular polling sites. Please contact your elections office or board of elections for your county, city or state to learn more about this option and specific locations.
Absentee Ballots
No excuses are needed to request a mail-in absentee ballot. The voter should send a written request to their county board of elections no later than 5:00 pm on the last Tuesday before the election. Exceptions can be made due to sickness or disability.
The request should include the voter's name, residence address, date of birth, signature, and address where the voter would like the ballots mailed if different from your residential address. Voter shoul call or email their county board of elections office to request an application for an absentee ballot. A "near relative" may also request absentee ballots using the same format as above. However, the request must also include the relative's relationship to the voter and the relative's contact information. A "near relative" is defined as a: spouse, brother, sister, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, mother-inlaw, father-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, stepparent, or stepchild. Absentee voting begins the third Thursday before the election and ends the Saturday prior to the election. For more information regarding one stop absentee voting and for specific locations where voters can vote, contact the local county board of elections.
Military voting
(a) Any individual who is eligible to register and who is qualified to vote in any statewide primary or election held under the laws of this State, and who is absent from the county of his residence in any of the capacities specified in subsection (b) of this section, shall be entitled to register by mail or to vote by absentee ballot or both in the manner provided in this Article.
(b) The provisions of this Article shall apply to the following persons:
(1) Individuals serving in the armed forces of the United States, including, but not limited to, the army, the navy, the air force, the marine corps, the coast guard, the Merchant Marine, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service, and members of the national guard and military reserve.
(2) Spouses of persons serving in the armed forces of the United States residing outside the counties of their spouses' voting residence.
(3) Disabled war veterans in United States government hospitals.
(4) Civilians attached to and serving outside the United States with the armed forces of the United States.
(5) Members of the Peace Corps.
(6) Other individuals meeting the definitions of "absent uniformed services voter" and "overseas voter" in the federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act.
(c) An otherwise valid voter registration or absentee ballot application submitted by an absent uniformed services voter during a year shall not be refused or prohibited on the grounds that the voter submitted the application before the first date on which the county board of elections otherwise accepts those applications submitted by absentee voters who are not members of the uniformed services for that year.
(d) If any absent uniformed services or overseas voter submits a voter registration application or absentee ballot request, and the request is rejected, the board of elections that makes the rejection shall notify the voter of the reasons for the rejection.
(e) The requirement for any oath or affirmation to accompany any document as to voter registration or absentee ballots under this Article may be met by use of the standard oath prescribed by the Presidential designee under section 101(b)(7) of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act. [3]
Early Voting
In-person absentee voting is available for all North Carolina registered voters between the third Thursday before the election and ends the Saturday before the election. For specific locations of where voters can vote, please contact the local county board of elections.
Election Day Activities
Conduct during elections
(a) Persons Who May Enter Voting Enclosure. – During the time allowed for voting in the voting place, only the following persons may enter the voting enclosure:
(1) An election official.
(2) An observer appointed pursuant to G.S. 163‑45.
(2a) A runner appointed pursuant to G.S. 163‑45, but only to the extent necessary to announce that runner's presence and to receive the voter list as provided in G.S. 163‑45.
(3) A person seeking to vote in that voting place on that day but only while in the process of voting or seeking to vote.
(4) A voter in that precinct while entering or explaining a challenge pursuant to G.S. 163‑87 or G.S. 163‑88.
(5) A person authorized under G.S. 163‑166.8 to assist a voter but, except as provided in subdivision (6) of this section, only while assisting that voter.
(6) Minor children of the voter under the age of 18, or minor children under the age of 18 in the care of the voter, but only while accompanying the voter and while under the control of the voter.
(7) Persons conducting or participating in a simulated election within the voting place or voting enclosure, if that simulated election is approved by the county board of elections.
(8) Any other person determined by election officials to have an urgent need to enter the voting enclosure but only to the extent necessary to address that need.
(b) Photographing Voters Prohibited. – No person shall photograph, videotape, or otherwise record the image of any voter within the voting enclosure, except with the permission of both the voter and the chief judge of the precinct. If the voter is a candidate, only the permission of the voter is required. This subsection shall also apply to one‑stop sites under G.S. 163‑227.2. This subsection does not apply to cameras used as a regular part of the security of the facility that is a voting place or one‑stop site.
(c) Photographing Voted Ballot Prohibited. – No person shall photograph, videotape, or otherwise record the image of a voted official ballot for any purpose not otherwise permitted under law. [4]
Poll Watching
On the day of a primary or election, at the time a registered voter offers to vote, any other registered voter of the precinct may exercise the right of challenge, and when he does so may enter the voting enclosure to make the challenge, but he shall retire therefrom as soon as the challenge is heard.
On the day of a primary or election, any other registered voter of the precinct may challenge a person for one or more of the following reasons:
(1) One or more of the reasons listed in G.S. 163‑85(c).
(2) That the person has already voted in that primary or election.
(3) That the person presenting himself to vote is not who he represents himself to be.
(4) If the challenge is made with respect to voting in a partisan primary, that the person is a registered voter of another political party.
The chief judge, judge, or assistant appointed under G.S. 163‑41 or 163‑42 may enter challenges under this section against voters in the precinct for which appointed regardless of the place of residence of the chief judge, judge, or assistant.[5]
Electioneering
(a) Buffer Zone and Adjacent Area for Election‑Related Activity. – No person or group of persons shall hinder access, harass others, distribute campaign literature, place political advertising, solicit votes, or otherwise engage in election‑related activity in the voting place or in a buffer zone which shall be prescribed by the county board of elections around the voting place. In determining the dimensions of that buffer zone for each voting place, the county board of elections shall, where practical, set the limit at 50 feet from the door of entrance to the voting place, measured when that door is closed, but in no event shall it set the limit at more than 50 feet or at less than 25 feet. Except as provided in subsection (b), the county board of elections shall also provide an area adjacent to the buffer zone for each voting place in which persons or groups of persons may distribute campaign literature, place political advertising, solicit votes, or otherwise engage in election‑related activity....
(d) Buffer Zone at One‑Stop Sites. – The provisions of this section shall apply to one‑stop voting sites in G.S. 163‑227.2, except that the notice in subsection (c) of this section shall be provided no later than 10 days before the opening of one‑stop voting at the site. [6]
Post Election Activities
Filing an Election Protest
(a) Who May File a Protest With County Board. – A protest concerning the conduct of an election may be filed with the county board of elections by any registered voter who was eligible to vote in the election or by any person who was a candidate for nomination or election in the election.
(b) How Protest May Be Filed. – The following principles shall apply to the filing of election protests with the county board of elections:
(1) The protest shall be in writing and shall be signed by the protester. It shall include the protester's name, address, and telephone number and a statement that the person is a registered voter in the jurisdiction or a candidate.
(2) The protest shall state whether the protest concerns the manner in which votes were counted and results tabulated or concerns some other irregularity.
(3) The protest shall state what remedy the protester is seeking.
(4) The timing for filing a protest shall be as follows:
a. If the protest concerns the manner in which votes were counted or results tabulated, the protest shall be filed before the beginning of the county board of election's canvass meeting.
b. If the protest concerns the manner in which votes were counted or results tabulated and the protest states good cause for delay in filing, the protest may be filed until 5:00 P.M. on the second business day after the county board of elections has completed its canvass and declared the results.
c. If the protest concerns an irregularity other than vote counting or result tabulation, the protest shall be filed no later than 5:00 P.M. on the second business day after the county board has completed its canvass and declared the results.
d. If the protest concerns an irregularity on a matter other than vote counting or result tabulation and the protest is filed before election day, the protest proceedings shall be stayed, unless a party defending against the protest moves otherwise, until after election day if any one of the following conditions exists:
1. The ballot has been printed.
2. The voter registration deadline for that election has passed.
3. Any of the proceedings will occur within 30 days before election day.[7]
Further Reading
This article only highlights important parts of the North Carolina Code. If the information you are looking for is not on this page, please look at the North Carolina Code available online.
References
- ↑ [1]N.C. Stat. § 163‑84 (1994)
- ↑ [2] N.C. Const Art. VI § 2(3) (1971)
- ↑ [3]N.C. Stat. § 163‑245 (2006)
- ↑ [4] N.C. Stat. § 163‑166.3 (2007)
- ↑ [5] N.C. Stat. § 163‑87 (2006)
- ↑ [6] N.C. Stat. § 163‑166.4 (2007)
- ↑ [7] N.C. Stat. § 163‑182.9 (2005)
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