As part of our elections coverage, QCity Metro invited readers to submit questions to our reporting team, which we seek to answer in a way that provides factual information free of politics. Read more at the end of this article.
Question: When and where is early voting? This election will undoubtedly have long lines for early voting!
Answer: Early voting is happening now. Early voting began Oct. 20 and ends at 3 p.m. on Nov. 5.
During early voting, voters may cast their ballot at any early voting site in their county. Residents may also register to vote and then vote on the same day.
This is different than on Election Day, where registered voters must vote at their assigned polling place.
There are 24 early voting sites. You can find addresses and hours here. Voters may also deliver absentee ballots to an election official at an early voting site during the time the site is open for voting. Ballots will be delivered to the county board of elections for processing.
Voters who are unable to enter the voting place because of age or disability can use curbside voting. Voters wishing to do this must sign an affidavit affirming they are unable to enter to cast their ballot.
After you have voted, you can check to make sure your vote was counted by going to the state’s Voter Search database. North Carolina law considers all early votes, whether case by mail or in person, as absentee votes. When looking in the database, your ballot status will show up in the “Voter History” section after the county assigns the voter history to your record. This will only show if you voted, it will not include any information about how you voted. Note: this information may not be available until a few weeks after Election Day.
Useful links:
Find a list of the early voting sites and their hours here.
Check if you are registered by visiting the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
Learn more about same-day registration.
After Election Day, you can confirm your ballot was counted by searching the state’s Voter Search database.
QCity Metro believes that democracy Matters.
For much of 2022, our reporters and editors have taken part in a nationwide fellowship called Democracy SOS, which encourages newsrooms to reimagine how they cover elections, with a goal to build civic engagement, equity and healthy discourse.
QCity Metro is an independent, Charlotte-based media company. We do not endorse candidates or accept money for political ads.
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