How To Vote
Make a Plan to Vote
- Check your registration, or register to vote.
- Learn about your early voting choices.
- Use this Early Voting Search Site to find your location
- Look at your Election Day choices.
- Learn about the NC Day-Of Election resources here.
- Learn about the candidates.
- Check out DAN’s candidate survey!
- Visit nonpartisan sites such as:
- Vote 411 – site by the League of Women Voters. provides candidate information and sample ballots.
- NC Voter Guide – Learn about candidates on your ballot
- NAACP Voter guide
- Share your plan with your family and friends.
This is all you need to vote!
Early Voting
During early voting, you can vote at any early voting site in your county.
This is different from Election Day. On Election Day, you must vote at your own assigned polling place.
During early voting, you can also register to vote AND vote at the same time.
November 2026 General Election
- Early voting starts: Thursday, October 15
- Early voting ends: 3 p.m. Saturday, October 31
- Election Day: Tuesday, November 3. Polls are open 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Find early voting places and times in your county with the Early Voting Site Search.
Don't Forget your Photo ID!
North Carolina voters will be asked to show a photo ID when they check in to vote. Learn about voter IDs.
Sample Ballot or Practice Ballot
- To see your sample ballot, go to the Voter Search tool. Enter your information and look for “Your Sample Ballot.”
- You can practice marking your choices with the accessible sample ballot at the NC Absentee Ballot Portal. Choose Option 4.
Sample ballots are only ready once they are finalized for each election.
Voting by mail (absentee voting)
Any registered voter in North Carolina can ask for a mail-in ballot for the 2026 elections. You must ask using the official NC Absentee Ballot Request Form. There are two ways:
- Online: Go to the NC Absentee Ballot Portal and choose Option 1.
- On paper: Fill out the 2026 NC Absentee Ballot Request Form (PDF). Then give it to your county board of elections in person, or send it by U.S. mail, DHL, FedEx, or UPS.
The last day to ask for a mail-in ballot is Tuesday, October 20 at 5 p.m. Your ballot must reach your county board of elections by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day.
Track Your Ballot
After you ask for a mail-in ballot, you can follow it from printed to accepted. Sign up for updates through BallotTrax. BallotTrax opens 30 days before the election.
Turning in your ballot
You can bring your mail-in ballot to your county board of elections office. You can also give it to an election worker at any early voting site while it is open. Ballots are kept safe and taken to the county board of elections.
Voting Equipment and Accessibility
Want to know what voting machines will be at your voting place? Look at the maps and tables:
Getting Help and Curbside Voting
- If you qualify for help, you can ask for help at your polling place. This is your right under North Carolina law (N.C.G.S. § 163-166.8).
- Learn more at Help for Voters with Disabilities.
- Curbside voting lets you vote from your car if you can’t go inside. Learn about curbside voting.
After you Vote
- To see if your mail-in or early vote was counted, go to the Voter Search tool and look at “Your Ballot: By Mail or Early Voting.”
- Your vote will also show in “Your Voter History” once your county finishes its work after the election. This can take a few weeks after Election Day.
Problem Voting? Call for Help!
NC Election Protection Hotline. Free help from a real person.