Early voting begins Thursday and runs through November 1, but the early voting period will be a week shorter than previous years due to a controversial election reform bill signed by the governor in 2013.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently upheld provisions of the new law that ban same-day registration and voting out of precinct in N.C. That ruling came just a week after a lower court stuck down the provisions.

But Tracy Reams, Director of the Orange County Board of Elections, says despite the back and forth in the courts, her office has not seen an increase in calls from confused voters.

“We’ve gotten very few calls as far as voter confusion on early voting. The calls that we’ve been receiving are more asking the hours and locations.”

Nor has Reams seen an increase in requests for absentee ballots.

“We have mailed 1,000 absentee ballots out already, but that is pretty comparable to mid-term elections, so I really can’t say that there are a whole lot more than what we’ve seen in past elections.”

Voters have until 5:00 p.m. on Oct. 28 to request an absentee ballot in the Board of Elections office in Hillsborough.

Orange County residents can visit one of five early voting sites:

Board of Elections
208 S. Cameron St., Hillsborough
Thursday & Friday, October 23 & October 24, 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Saturday, October 25, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Monday – Friday, October 27 – October 31, 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Saturday, November 1, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Carrboro Town Hall
301 W. Main St, Carrboro

Seymour Senior Center
2551 Homestead Rd, Chapel Hill

North Carolina Hillel
210 W. Cameron Ave, Chapel Hill

Master’s Garden Preschool
(Former St. Mary’s School) 7500 Schley Rd, Hillsborough

The above 4 sites have the following hours:
Thursday, October 23, Noon – 7 p.m.
Friday, October 24, Noon – 6 p.m.
Saturday, October 25, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Monday – Thursday, October 27 – October 30, Noon – 7 p.m.
Friday, October 31, Noon – 6 p.m.
Saturday, November 1, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m

All polling sites will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Election Day.

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