North Carolina’s primary elections are quickly approaching. There are a few important dates you should know, as well as some rules about early voting and voting by mail. Since the last election, there have also been changes to some early voting sites and days, and two voting districts have even had their boundaries redrawn.
Important Dates to Remember
- Feb. 6, 2026: Voter registration deadline. (5 p.m.)
- Feb. 12, 2026: In-person early voting begins.
- Feb. 17, 2026: Absentee ballot request deadline. (5 p.m.)
- Feb. 28, 2026: In-person early voting ends. (3 p.m.)
- March 3, 2026: Primary Election Day.
- March 3, 2026: Absentee ballot return deadline. (7:30 p.m.)
Need Everything in One Place?
If you aren’t sure where to start or you feel intimidated by all the different forms and rules, NCVoter.org offers a great all-in-one resource. Their site is filled with explanations and will link you to the correct state webpages.
Registering and Voting in NC Primaries
The State Board of Elections website also has instructions for how to register to vote or update your registration.
Voters can view their sample ballot online, so everyone has a chance to research the different candidates and make their decisions ahead of time.
North Carolina voters need to show a photo ID when they check in to vote. To learn more about what forms of ID are accepted or how to receive a free ID, click here.
There are three ways to vote in NC: early in-person, in-person on primary election day, and to vote by mail.
North Carolina has what are called semi-open primaries. That means that anyone registered as a member of a political party can only vote in that party’s primary, but anyone registered as Unaffiliated can choose which primary they vote in. A voter cannot vote in more than one party’s primary.
- Spanish-language news organization, Enlace Latino NC, has created a full online candidate guide for NC residents who primarily speak Spanish.
Early Voting
During the early voting period, voters can go to any of the early voting sites in their county and cast a ballot. You can find your early voting sites here.
This is also the only time when you are able to use what’s called “same day registration.” As the name suggests, unregistered voters can go to their early voting site, register, and then vote all in one trip. This is not an option on election day.
Changes to Early Voting
Since taking control of the Board of Elections, Republicans have slashed early voting in two important ways. They have lowered the number of early voting sites in several counties and ended Sunday early voting in several more. These moves will affect multiple demographics, but the hardest hit will be Black communities and college students.
NC’s Black churches have a long tradition of Sunday voting in events known as “Souls to the Polls”, which helps community members who may not otherwise have the means to travel, get transportation to early voting sites.
Some of the early voting sites that have been removed were ones on the campuses of Western Carolina University, North Carolina A&T State University (the nation’s largest HBCU), UNC-Greensboro, and Elon University. The board also rejected the request for an early voting site at Fayetteville State University.
The NC A&T decision drew a lot of attention as a large number of students gathered to voice their concerns before the board voted. Students were told they were not allowed to speak at the meeting, despite Democratic board members’ support, and were even threatened with arrest as board leadership left the room to avoid their questions. Students from NC A&T, WCU, and UNCG have since filed a lawsuit.
Voting by Mail
Registered voters may request an absentee ballot online or by submitting a paper request form to their county election board. The request deadline is February 17th at 5 pm.
- Voters mark their candidate choices on absentee ballots the same as any other ballot, and then seal it inside the two return envelopes included with the ballot.
- Absentee ballots must be filled out in the presence of either two witnesses or a notary public, who must sign the back of the return envelope after it is sealed. A witness can be anyone 18 years or older who is not a candidate for office.
To comply with NC’s ID law, voters must include a photocopy of a valid photo ID in the clear sleeve on the back of the absentee ballot envelope. Anyone unable to provide an ID can fill out the yellow Photo ID Exception form included in the ballot package.
The sealed envelopes can be mailed to your county board of elections office, or you may deliver it in-person to an early voting site or the county board. A close relative or legal guardian may also drop off your ballot for you.
Important note: Voters cannot deliver absentee ballots to polling sites on election day and must deliver them to the county election board. Polling site drop-offs are only accepted during early voting.
To be safe, it is always recommended to mail absentee ballots as early as possible. This is especially true in rural counties where delivery may take a little longer.
A Change to Voting by Mail
There have been recent changes at the US Postal Service regarding when postmarks are placed on pieces of mail. Starting this year, the USPS is slowing the rate at which letters are taken from dropoff locations to regional processing centers, which is where postmarks are normally applied. The result will be that the postmark on many letters will now be placed days after the letter was actually mailed.
There is widespread concern that this will lead to legitimate ballots not being counted because their postmark is after the deadline, even though the ballots were actually mailed on time. Ironically, this is one voting obstacle North Carolinians won’t have to worry about because state lawmakers created a separate obstacle with a similar result.
NC law previously allowed a three-day grace period for ballots postmarked by election day to arrive, but Republican lawmakers eliminated that grace period. Absentee ballots must now be received by 7:30 pm on election day.
If you are casting your absentee ballot within a week of election day, it may be wise to hand-deliver your ballot directly to an early voting site or your county election board.
Once the ballot is mailed or dropped off, the state offers an online tool for checking if your ballot has been received and counted yet.
New Congressional Map
This is the first election since the North Carolina House approved a new Congressional voting map. The redistricting was done at President Trump’s request in an attempt to keep Republicans in control of the US House of Representatives. The new map was specifically drawn to flip Rep. Don Davis’ seat by diluting the power of Black voters in eastern NC.
Anyone living in the two impacted Eastern NC districts, District 1 or District 3, should check their registration and sample ballot for changes. The boundaries of these two districts have changed, and many people may now live in a different congressional district without realizing it.
Want more information? Check out NCVoter.org or the North Carolina State Board of Elections site here.
