A guide to voting with an absentee ballot in the upcoming election

Over the next few weeks, the North Carolina State Board of Elections will begin distributing absentee ballots to voters across the state ahead of the Nov. 5 general election. 

The process to apply for an absentee ballot varies by state. In North Carolina, registered voters can request an absentee ballot through the NCSBE website or by submitting a paper form. 

Gerry Cohen, a member of the Wake County Board of Elections, said for many people, it can be confusing and overwhelming to request and complete an absentee ballot.

Requesting and filling out an absentee ballot

Oct. 29 is the deadline to apply for an absentee ballot in North Carolina, but Gerry Cohen and Rachel Raper, the director of elections for Orange County, suggest applying before then. In order to request an absentee ballot, voters must be registered. The deadline for voter registration in North Carolina is Oct. 11 at 5 p.m.

Cohen said if voters are receiving absentee ballots from within North Carolina, it can take between two and five business days to receive their ballots in the mail after they request them. 

“I just absolutely encourage people to get the request in as soon as you think you might want to vote absentee so you give yourself plenty of time to complete all requirements of getting the ballot witnessed, voting the ballot and then sending it back to us,” Raper said. 

When voters receive their absentee ballots, they must fill out their ballots in front of two witnesses who must sign the envelope and provide their addresses, Cohen said. 

He said witnesses do not have to be citizens or voters — they are only required to be 18 years old.

Voters must also include a photocopy of an acceptable ID when they return their absentee ballot. If needed, they may also complete a Photo ID Exception Form with the absentee ballot return envelope, Cohen said. 

Returning an absentee ballot

Voters can submit their absentee ballots by mailing or turning them in to the Board of Elections office in the state they're registered in, or bringing their ballot to an early voting site in the county they are registered to vote in. 

Absentee ballots must be received at the appropriate Board of Elections office by the time polls close on election day in each state. In North Carolina, voting for the general election closes at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 5.  

“A lot of people don't always hard mail things a lot these days, so it can be really challenging to gauge how long it is going to take for my ballot to actually get to my local Board of Elections,” Natasha Young, a Leadership Development Program coordinator with the UNC Office of Student Life and Leadership, said. "How is that going to vary if I'm mailing in-state, out-of-state, wherever that may be. I think it's really important for folks to get their ballots in early."

In North Carolina, early voting begins Oct. 17 and ends Nov. 2. If an absentee voter chooses to deliver their ballot to an early voting site, they will still need to wait in line so their ballot can be processed, Raper said. 

“It’s not that you’re just simply dropping a ballot off. There is a chain of custody log requirements that a voter or a near relative must complete when returning that ballot at an early voting location,” Raper said. 

If a voter requests and receives an absentee ballot, they are still eligible to vote in person at their assigned polling location as long as they don’t return the absentee ballot. 

North Carolina utilizes BallotTrax statewide, a service that allows voters to receive notifications about the status of their absentee ballot. According to the BallotTrax website, other nearby states — including Virginia and Tennessee — also use the service, however only in some counties.

Young said the SLL Office will be holding several one-stop shops in the coming weeks to equip voters with postage and registration forms, have their ballots witnessed and get questions about voting answered. Young said the event dates will be posted on SLL’s Instagram and Heel Life. 

"Do your research and know that your vote really does matter, however you choose to vote," Young said.

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