Voting by Mail
Questions? Call Our Voter Assistance Hotline: 1-833-VOTE4NC (1-833-868-3462)
Vote by Mail - What Voters Should Know
Voting by mail is one of the three safe, reliable, and convenient ways to vote in North Carolina.
If you vote by mail, follow these steps to ensure your ballot is counted:
Grab a friend or family member to be your witness,
Vote your ballot,
Sign your name on the return envelope, only on the line provided
Have your witness sign, and print their name and address, and—This needs to be done carefully
Return the ballot as early as possible
Remember it Takes YOU and YOUR WITNESS to Sign - You and your witness must sign your ballot’s return envelope.
Who Can Be a Witness? Anyone over 18 years, except candidates and congregate care workers.
Track Your Ballot: Track the status of your ballot, and get notified of issues, through the NC State Board of Elections online tracking system at: URL ANNOUNCED 9/1
Need to Request a Ballot? Anyone can request a ballot at: URL ANNOUNCED 9/1
Key Dates
Sept. 1st - Online ballot request and tracking system goes live.
Sept. 4th - NC is first state to mail absentee ballots.
Sept. 8th - First ballots start to arrive in mailboxes.
Mid-Sept - As counties receive ballots, staff notify voters of issues.
Sept. 29th - County boards hold first meetings to consider absentee applications.
Oct. 27th, 5 PM - Deadline to request absentee ballots. If you wait this long, your ballot may not arrive in the mail in time.
Nov. 3rd - Postmark deadline for absentee ballots. Take to the desk at the Post Office or directly to the office of the Board of Elections
Nov. 6th, 5 PM - Receipt deadline for ballots postmarked by Nov. 3.
Vote By Mail is Surging in 2020
NCSBE estimates 40% of voters will vote by mail (2M+)
3.5x more Democrats than Republicans are requesting ballots
Historical Rejection Rates Are High
2020 Primary - 9.1% (13.5% among AfAm voters)
2016 General - 6.11% (12.3% among AfAm voters)
3 Reasons For Rejections
Missing Witness Signature, Printed Name, or Address
Missing Voter Signature
Ballot Returned Past Deadline
More Questions? See the NCSBE’s helpful Vote by Mail FAQs or call our hotline: 1-833-VOTE4NC
Here is a link to the Yancey Ballot:
If you need copies of the sample ballot, email or call and we will work out a way to safely get them to you.
