NC absentee voters must meet new deadline to ensure ballots are counted

RALEIGH, NC (WWAY) —  With Election Day approaching, the North Carolina State Board of Elections is urging absentee voters to submit their ballots as soon as possible to ensure they are counted. Following a law change last year, absentee ballots now must be received by county election boards by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day, November 5.

In previous years, absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day could arrive within three days and still be counted. However, this grace period has been eliminated under the new law.

“North Carolinians who are voting by mail should not wait any longer to turn in their ballot,” said Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the State Board of Elections. “Under the new law, your county board must have your ballot in hand by Election Day to count it.”

The State Board advises absentee voters using the U.S. Postal Service to mail ballots by Thursday to meet the deadline.

You can hand deliver ballots to early voting sites in the county where the voter is registered to vote. Voters or their close relatives can also deliver ballots in person to county election board offices on Election Day. Early voting schedules and locations are available through the Early Voting Site Search tool.

For voters displaced by Hurricane Helene, ballots can be dropped off at any early voting site or county election office statewide if the voter is from one of the 25 counties designated as a disaster area.