After delays in the primaries this spring, early voting and the general election cycle in North Carolina have arrived along their normal fall schedule. The 2022 midterms are shaping up to once again be critical in North Carolina, featuring a U.S. Senate race, several competitive congressional districts, the potential for Republicans to earn a supermajority in the state legislature, and many important local government elections.
With early voting starting on Thursday, October 20 and lasting through Saturday, November 5, here is what you need to know before heading to the polls in Orange, Chatham and Durham Counties.
Where Can I Vote?
Early voting sites are not like the polls on Election Day. Instead of being required to vote at the polling site closest to your registered address, voters in a county can choose any early voting location at their leisure to cast their ballots in the 2022 elections.
In Orange County, early voting has seen upticks across their recent elections — enough to warrant adding a new site to the rotation this general election season. The Chapel Hill Public Library joins the Chapel of the Cross church and Seymour Senior Center as early voting spots in Chapel Hill. Additionally, the Carrboro Town Hall complex, Orange Works at Hillsborough Commons and the Efland Ruritan Club will once again serve as sites.
Rachel Raper is the director Orange County’s Board of Elections. She told Chapelboro the county saw healthy early voting numbers during the 2022 primaries, with a noticeable portion of early voters in all elections since 2018.
“That’s interesting, because 2018 was a blue moon election — it didn’t have a statewide race on the ballot other than constitutional amendments. And we still saw a 60 percent turnout, so we believe we’re going to see another high turnout in this election cycle. Now that we have six early voting sites with the addition of the Chapel Hill Library, we do believe we’ll see more and more voters vote early.”
Photo via the Orange County government.
In this cycle, Orange County’s early voting sites will be open from 8 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. each weekday. For the Saturdays during the 17 days, early voting sites will be open from 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. Sunday hours for this general election cycle are from 12 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Just south in Chatham County, there will be five early voting sites for residents to utilize: the Goldston Town Hall, Paul Braxton Gym in Siler City, the Chatham County Agriculture Conference Center in Pittsboro, the CCCC Health Science Building in Pittsboro, and New Hope Baptist Church in Apex.
The hours for the Chatham County early voting sites are similar to Orange County’s. On weekdays, the sites will be open for voters from 8 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.; on Saturdays, they will open from 8 a.m. – 3 p.m..; and on Sundays, they will open from 12 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Durham County will feature the most early voting sites of the trio with eight. To help, the county’s Board of Elections has a map tool for people to see the early voting locations and if there is any wait time. The eight sites include Durham’s four county library branches, the Karsh Alumni Center on Duke’s campus, NC Central’s Turner Law Building, The River Church and the Eno River Unitarian church.
Photo via the Durham County government.
Early voting hours in Durham have the same weekday hours as others (8 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.) and similar Saturday hours to Chatham County (8 a.m. – 3 p.m.) Durham’s early voting sites, however, differ in their Sunday hours. The locations will be open from 2 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Raper said there is a common theme when voters share why they enjoy the early voting period.
“It normally boils down to convenience,” she said. “They can go to any one of our early voting locations and vote. It just depends on where they are that day or where they’d like to go, instead of on Election Day where you have to go to your assigned precinct.”
Is It Too Late to Register to Vote?
While the chance to change your party affiliation has ended, there are plenty of opportunities for North Carolinians to register thanks to the early voting period. State laws allow for one-stop or same-day registration — meaning voters can register to vote for the first time or change their address at early voting sites. The deadline to change your registration online or at the Board of Elections office passed on October 14.
Voters must be a resident of North Carolina and their respective county for at least 30 days prior to the election.
If you are registering to vote for the first time, you must be prepared to present a North Carolina driver license or a different valid photo identification. Alternatively, residents can present a bill, bank statement, paycheck or government document showing your name and address.
North Carolinians can always check their voter registration information on the state Board of Election’s Voter Search web page.
How Can I Vote?
If you plan on visiting an early voting location, you will vote in-person and turn in your ballot on-site. There is, however, still time to request an absentee ballot if residents prefer to mail their votes in to the respective Board of Elections.
North Carolinians who are registered to vote can request absentee ballots two ways: by using the online N.C. Absentee Ballot Portal or by using a paper copy of the ballot request form, which must be returned to the voter’s respective county elections office. Once received, the ballot must be filled out by the voter and signed by two witnesses.
Raper told Chapelboro this detail is one mail-in voters sometimes forget, leading to disqualified ballots.
“The witnesses have to leave their name, address information, and sign the back on the ballot,” she described. “The biggest mistake we’ve seen so far is not getting enough witnesses or a witness does not provide the required elements.”
There are two important deadlines to remember for absentee voting: November 1 and November 8. The first, which is one week before Election Day, is the cutoff date for requesting an absentee ballot. Prospective voters’ Boards of Elections must have received the request form by that time in order to send a mail ballot. Additionally, those absentee ballots must be post-marked by Election Day to be included in the total — although they can arrive to the Board of Elections following November 8.
Where Can I Learn More?
The Orange County, Durham County and Chatham County Board of Elections site have much information that could be helpful to voters and residents during the general election cycle.
In Orange County, voters also have a new tool to share resources: a 24/7 text line. Raper said residents can message 919-246-8773 and get immediate response to common questions.
“We wanted to meet voters where they were,” the elections director said, “and many voters do not like to talk on the phone, but [they] prefer written communication via text or email. So, we thought that a 24/7 text service would really help our voters out. They can ask simple voter questions [like] ‘When are early voting times?’ or ‘Where do I go vote?’ and then that question will be answered.”
Raper said even if a question isn’t able to be answered by the text line, the voter will be sent the contact information of those who can, as well as a link to the state’s Voter Search page.
Additional voter resources and information can be found by going to the North Carolina Board of Elections website.
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