Election Day · Tuesday, November 3, 2026
How to vote in North Carolina
The deadlines, early voting, mail ballots and ID rules for North Carolina, and what happens after the polls close. Every fact links to the North Carolina State Board of Elections or the law it comes from. Rules change, and courts sometimes change them close to an election, so confirm anything you are relying on with the state.
Checked against official sources on October 7.
Key dates
- Register online by
Friday, October 9
5 p.m., 25 days before Election Day. Online registration is only for existing NCDMV customers, through the DMV.
- Register by mail by
Friday, October 9
25 days before Election Day. Whether postmarked or received by that date was not confirmed (G.S. 163-82.6(d) sets the rule.
- Register in person by
Saturday, October 31
The regular deadline is October 9, but you can register in person and vote the same day at any early voting site in your county, October 15–31 (ends 3 p.m. on October 31).
- Same-day registration
No
Same-day registration is available during early voting only, not on Election Day for most voters. You can't change party affiliation that way.
- Early voting
Thursday, October 15 to Saturday, October 31
- How early voting works
Vote at any early voting site in your county, October 15 through 3 p.m. October 31. Same-day registration is available. You can also hand your mail ballot to an election official at an early voting site.
- Request a mail ballot by
Tuesday, October 20
5 p.m. on the second Tuesday before the election (G.S. 163-230.1(a)). Voters who become sick or disabled after that may request in person until 5 p.m. on the last business day before the election.
- Return your mail ballot by
Tuesday, November 3
Received, not postmarked: by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day. Deliver to the county board office or an early voting site, or mail it early. Deadlines differ for military and overseas voters.
- Election Day polling hours
6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Voting by mail
- Who can vote by mail
Any voter can vote by mail
Any registered voter. Include a photocopy of an acceptable photo ID or an ID Exception Form.
- Drop boxes
No
G.S. 163-231(c): "delivered in person" means handing the voted absentee ballot to an election official at the county board office or an early voting site, and "does not include depositing the voted absentee ballot in a drop box or other location designated for the return of voted absentee ballots."
- Ballots arriving after Election Day
Not counted — your ballot must arrive by the deadline
Ballots must be received by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day, except for military and overseas voters.
ID at the polls
- The rule
Photo ID requested
Voters are asked for photo ID. A voter without one votes a provisional ballot and either brings ID to the county office by noon on the fifth business day after Election Day, or fills out an ID Exception Form (reasonable impediment, religious objection, or recent natural disaster); those provisional ballots must be counted if the form is truthful. Classed as photo requested rather than strict because a voter without ID can complete an ID Exception Form at the polls and have the ballot counted without returning.
- What to bring
Show a photo ID such as a North Carolina driver's license, state ID, U.S. passport, military or veterans ID, tribal ID, or an approved student or public-employee ID. Free voter IDs are available from your county board of elections. If you can't show one, you can still vote by filling out an exception form.
When will we know results in North Carolina?
How fast results come in depends mostly on when the polls close and when election officials are allowed to start on mail ballots. Totals shown on election night are unofficial until the state certifies them.
- Last polls close
7:30 p.m. Eastern time
- Mail ballots can be processed from
Before Election Day: at each public meeting where the county board approves absentee applications, it may remove approved ballots from envelopes and scan them without printing totals
G.S. 163-234(3). The statute sets no calendar date; the first meeting date depends on when each county board schedules it. Counting itself begins at 5:00 p.m. on Election Day (163-234(2)), and results may not be announced before 7:30 p.m.
- Mail ballots can be counted from
Tuesday, November 3
The county board meets at 5 p.m. on Election Day to count absentee ballots (or from 2 p.m. by advance resolution), and may not announce results before 7:30 p.m.
- Counties finish their count by
Friday, November 13
Computed: county boards meet at 11 a.m. on the tenth day after the election (G.S. 163-182.5(b)).
- State certifies results
Tuesday, November 24
Computed: the State Board meets at 11 a.m. on the Tuesday three weeks after Election Day (G.S. 163-182.5(c)).
- Automatic recount
None
No automatic recount: a candidate must demand one.
- Requested recount
statewide: 0.5% or 10,000 votes, whichever is less
A candidate within that margin has the right to a recount on demand, due by noon on the second business day after the county canvass. Non-statewide contests: 1%. No cost is mentioned in the statute.
- Runoff
No runoff — the candidate with the most votes wins
G.S. 163-182.15(d): "In a general election, the individuals having the highest number of votes for each office shall be declared elected." Chapter 163's runoff and second-primary provisions apply to primaries and local elections.
- Ranked-choice voting
Not used
G.S. Chapter 163 contains no ranked-choice or instant-runoff provision; in a general election the candidates with the highest number of votes are elected (G.S. 163-182.15(d)).
- Votes needed to pass a ballot measure
A simple majority
Simple majority. N.C. Const. art. XIII, § 4: a legislatively proposed amendment takes effect if a majority of the votes cast on it are in favor (it first needs three-fifths of each house to be submitted).
What’s on your ballot
Every contest you will vote on, from Congress to school board, with each candidate’s positions and record and the arguments for and against them.
Confirm this with the official source
Your ballot is determined by your election authority, not by us. Verify your registration, precinct, and sample ballot at North Carolina State Board of Elections.