North Carolina

The 2026 Primary Election is Tuesday, March 3, 2026.

Polling places will be open from 6:30 AM to 7:30 PM Eastern Time on Election Day. Any voter in line at their assigned polling place at 7:30 PM ET will be able to vote.

Election Day polling places can be determined by checking the North Carolina Board of Elections website: https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/ (to search by registered voter) or https://vt.ncsbe.gov/PPLkup/ (to search by address).

Voters must vote at their assigned polling place on Election Day. If you are unable to vote at your assigned polling place, you can still vote a provisional ballot.

Registration Deadlines

• For registration deadlines, see How to Register below.

How to Check Your Registration: Voters can determine whether they are registered to vote at the following link: Am I Registered?.

You are eligible to vote in North Carolina if you:

• Are a U.S. citizen
• Are at least 18 years old by Election Day
• Are a resident of North Carolina
• Live in the precinct where you vote for at least 30 days prior to the election

You are NOT eligible to vote in North Carolina if:

• You were disqualified from voting due to a court order
• You are currently serving a sentence including incarceration, parole, probation, or extended supervision for a felony conviction

Restorative Requirements

• If you have completed a felony prison sentence, even if you are still on parole or probation, then you are immediately eligible to register to vote.

You are able to pre-register:

• At the age of 17
• At the age 16

17-year-olds may vote in a primary election if they will be 18 at the time of the general election

How to register 

• North Carolina Congressional Primary Election
  • Submit a Printed Application: Postmarked by Fri Feb 6, 2026
  • Email, Online or Fax by Fri Feb 6, 2026 5:00PM
  • In-Person Request by Fri Feb 6, 2026

Eligibility

To register to vote in North Carolina, you must: 

• (1) Be a U.S. citizen;
• (2) Live in the county where you are registering, and have resided in the precinct within that county for which you are registering for at least 30 days prior to the date of the election; 
• (3) Be at least 18 years old, or will be by the date of the general election; and
  • 16 and 17-year-olds may preregister to vote. 
  • 17-year-olds may vote in a primary election if they will be 18 at the time of the general election.
• (4) Not currently serving a felony sentence, including any period of probation, post-release supervision, or parole. Once the period of supervision is over, a person convicted of a felony automatically regains the right to vote (but will need to re-register).
  • Note: When you are convicted of a misdemeanor, you do not lose your right to vote, even if you are incarcerated.

Registration Status

Voters can check their registration status here: https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/. 

How to Register

Voters have 4 options for registering to vote: 

• (1) Online: https://www.ncdot.gov/dmv/offices-services/online/Pages/voter-registration-application.aspx 
• (2) By Mail: Voters may download a voter registration application online from the Board of Elections’ website, print it on paper, and then fill it out and submit it by mail.
  • English PDF Version: https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/Voter_Registration/NCVoterRegForm_06W.pdf. 
  • Spanish PDF Version: https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/Voter_Registration/NCVoterRegForm_09W.pdf. 
• (3) In Person: Voters can register in person at their local county board of elections, through any organized voter registration drive, or to a “voter registration agency” (which includes the DMV and a number of public assistance agencies, etc.). 

(4) Same Day: If the voter misses the regular voter registration deadline, they may register and vote at the same time at any early-voting site in their county during the early voting period. Sites and hours for early-voting sites vary and are available at https://vt.ncsbe.gov/EVSite/ or by calling the voter’s county board of elections office.

If You Want to Vote Absentee, requests may be made:

• In-Person
• By Mail
• Online

Absentee Ballots may be returned:

• In-Person
• By Mail
• Online

North Carolina Congressional Primary Election

Ballot Request:

• Received by Tue Feb 17, 2026

Ballot Return:

• In-Person, Received by Tue Mar 3, 2026 7:30PM
• Post Received by Tue Mar 3, 2026 7:30PM

No Excuse to Vote Absentee
No reason is required to vote by mail. Any registered voter may vote by mail in an election in North Carolina.

Deadline to Request an Absentee Ballot
The deadline to request an absentee ballot is two weeks before the election. For the 2026 Primary Election, absentee ballot requests must be received by the county board of elections no later than 5:00 pm ET on February 17, 2026.               

County boards of elections begin mailing absentee ballots to eligible voters who submitted an absentee ballot request form 50 days before the primary (January 12, 2026) or 45 days before the primary if delayed by the State Board (January 17, 2026).
     
How to Request an Absentee Ballot
Online: https://votebymail.ncsbe.gov/app/home
By Mail: On paper with the English N.C. Absentee Ballot Request Form for 2026 (fillable PDF) or the 2026 N.C. Absentee Ballot Request Form in Spanish (download to come). The form comes with detailed instructions. After completing, the form must be submitted to the voter’s county board of elections in person or by mail via the U.S. Postal Service, DHL, FedEx, or UPS.
In Person: At the North Carolina State Board of Elections office (https://www.ncsbe.gov/contact-ncsbe) or at the relevant County Board of Elections office (https://vt.ncsbe.gov/BOEInfo/). 

Those who are blind or visually impaired may also request an accessible absentee ballot. For more information about how to request and submit an accessible absentee ballot, see https://www.ncsbe.gov/voting/help-voters-disabilities/accessible-absentee-voting. 
A completed Absentee Ballot Request Form may only be returned by the voter, the voter’s near relative or legal guardian, a Multipartisan Assistance Team (MAT) member, United States Postal Service, or designated delivery service (DHL, FedEx, or UPS). Voters cannot submit absentee ballot request forms via fax or email. The MAT can assist voters in the mail-in absentee voting process. If you need assistance returning your ballot due to blindness, disability, or inability to read or write, these restrictions do not apply, and you may ask any person to return your ballot. The assistant must provide their name and address on the voter’s Absentee Ballot Request Form.   
For the 2026 Primary Election, absentee ballot requests must be received by the county board of elections no later than 5 PM on February 17, 2026.     
The state recommends allowing 7-10 days for the absentee ballot to be delivered to you. 
Once you have requested your absentee ballot, you can track its status from printed to accepted by signing up online for status notifications through BallotTrax (https://northcarolina.ballottrax.net/voter/). To sign up for BallotTrax, a voter needs to provide your first name, last name, year and/or date of birth and zip code.

Deadline to Return Absentee Ballot 
Mailed absentee ballots will be timely if the County Board of Elections receives the ballot by 7:30 PM on Election Day. NOTE: Voters who vote by mail must include a photocopy of an acceptable photo ID or complete the ID Exception Form with the absentee ballot return envelope.                               

If the voter chooses not to return their completed absentee ballot by mail, the voter can return the completed absentee ballot in person at the voter’s county board of elections or at any open early voting site in the voter’s county at any time the site is open for voting. On Election Day, voters must return the ballot in-person at the county board of elections office by 7:30 PM.

Early Voting: For the 2026 Primary Elections, North Carolina offers early voting. The early voting period for the 2026 Primary Elections beings the third Thursday before the election (Thursday, February 12, 2026) and ends the Saturday before the election at 3:00 PM (Saturday, February 28, 2026 at 3:00 PM).
                     
The voter can vote at any Early Voting site that is open within the voter’s county. The voter should check the specific opening and closing times for early voting sites in their county using the state’s Early Voting Site Search: https://vt.ncsbe.gov/EVSite/

Voter Registration

To register to vote in North Carolina you should provide:

• Last Four Digits of your Social Security Number
• Your North Carolina Driver’s License or State non-driver ID Number
• Your North Carolina Voter Registration Number (if known)

If you do not have any of these IDs, you can provide a copy of one of the following with your registration application:

• Government Issued Document that shows your current name and address
• Utility Bill
• Government Check
• Bank Statement
• Paycheck that Shows your Current Name and Address

You can alternatively provide one of these documents when you vote to complete your registration.

Voting In-Person

In-person voters will be asked to show any of the following when they check in to vote.

• Valid North Carolina Driver’s License
• Valid US Passport
• Valid North Carolina non-driver’s ID
• Student ID approved by North Carolina; unexpired or expired for less than 1 year
• Valid North Carolina Voter Photo ID card, issued by board of elections
• Valid charter school employee ID approved by North Carolina
• Valid state/local government employee ID approved by North Carolina
• Military or veteran ID card issued by U.S. government
• Tribal enrollment card issued by a state or federally recognized tribe
• Public Assistance ID

See [NC voter ID requirements.](https://www.ncsbe.gov/voting/voter-id)

ID to Register

• No photo ID is required to register to vote in North Carolina. 
• Voters must provide their NC driver’s license/DMV ID number, or last four digits of their social security number, or indicate that they do not have either when registering to vote in North Carolina. First-time voters who did not provide ID numbers when registering must provide proof of identification with an acceptable, current document.  

Photo ID to Vote

• Photo ID is required when voting in North Carolina (in-person voting and voting by mail). 
• When a voter checks in to vote at a polling place, they will be asked to show an acceptable photo ID. 
• If they cannot show an acceptable photo ID when voting in person, they can still vote by filling out an ID Exception Form. 
• When voting by mail, voters must include a photocopy of an acceptable photo ID inside the photo ID envelope that comes with the ballot. 
• If absentee-by-mail voters are unable to include a copy of their photo ID with their ballot envelope, they can fill out an ID Exception Form to return with their ballot.
• Acceptable photo IDs for voting are any of the following that is unexpired or expired for one year or less:
  • N.C. driver’s license 
  • State ID from the N.C. DMV (also called “non-operator ID”) 
  • Driver’s license or non-driver ID from another state, District of Columbia, or U.S. territory (only if voter registered in N.C. within 90 days of the election)
  • U.S. Passport or U.S. Passport card 
  • N.C. voter photo ID card issued by a County Board of Elections
    • To be issued a free voter photo ID card, the voter must be registered to vote in the county, provide their name, date of birth and the last four numbers of their Social Security number, and have their photo taken 
    • County boards of elections cannot issue free voter photo ID cards starting on the last day of early voting at 3:00PM through the end of Election Day.
  • College or university student ID approved by the North Carolina State Board of Elections (view the list of approved student IDs https://www.ncsbe.gov/voting/voter-id/student-public-employee-ids-approved-voting) 
  • State or local government or charter school employee ID approved by the North Carolina State Board of Elections (view the list of approved employee IDs https://www.ncsbe.gov/voting/voter-id/student-public-employee-ids-approved-voting) 
• A voter 65 or older may use an expired form of acceptance ID if the ID was unexpired on their 65^th birthday.
• Acceptable photo IDs for voting are any of the following, regardless of whether the photo ID contains an expiration or issuance date:
  • Military or veterans ID card issue by the U.S. government 
  • Tribal enrollment card issued by a tribe recognized by the State or federal government 
  • ID card issued by an agency of the U.S. government or N.C. for a public assistance program 

No Photo ID, Voters Can Vote With a Provisional Ballot

• If a voter cannot show an acceptable photo ID when voting or does not have an acceptable photo ID, they can still vote in-person by two methods:
  • Voting a provisional ballot and an ID Exception Form OR 
  • Voting a provisional ballot and returning to their County Board of Elections office with an acceptable photo ID by noon on the third business day after the election (March 6, 2026). 

Using an ID Exception Form When A Voter is Unable to Show or Photocopy Photo ID

• If a voter is unable to show photo ID when voting (whether in person or by mail), they may fill out an ID Exception Form. The following are acceptable reasons for not showing photo ID:
  • The voter has a “reasonable impediment” to providing photo ID. The voter must provide their reason by selecting from the following choices on the form:
    • Lack of transportation 
    • Disability or illness 
    • Lack of birth certificate or other documents needed to obtain ID 
    • Work or school schedule 
    • Family responsibilities
    • Photo ID is lost, stolen, or misplaced 
    • Applied for photo ID but have not received it
    • For mail voters only – unable to attach a copy of photo ID
      • The voter must provide either their N.C. drivers’ license/DMV ID number OR the last four digits of their Social Security number. 
    • Other reasonable impediment
      • If selected, the voter must write the reason on the form, e.g., “I did not know photo ID was required for voting.”
  • The voter has a religious objection to being photographed
  • The voter was a victim of a natural disaster within 100 days before Election Day 
  • State or federal law prohibits the voter from listing the reason
• The voter must sign the ID Exception Form. 
• County Boards of Elections must count provisional ballots or mail-in ballots with truthfully completed ID Exception Forms. 

ID for First Time Voters Registering by Mail

• First time voters who registered to vote by mail and DID NOT provide verification of identification (drivers’ license number or last four digits of their Social Security Number) must present proof of identification the first time that they vote.
• Proof of identification includes any of the following documents:
  • A current and valid photo identification (e.g., North Carolina driver’s license); or
  • A copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows the voter’s name and address.

Proof of Residence for Same-Day Registrants

• Voters registering during the early voting period using same-day registration must provide a document proving their residential address.
• Proof of residence includes any of the following documents:
  • A current and valid photo identification (e.g., North Carolina driver’s license) with the voter’s name and residential address; or
  • A copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows the voter’s name and residential address; or
  • A current document issued from the institution that issued the voter’s approved voter photo ID.
  • For students living on campus, a document from a college/university with the student’s name and on-campus housing address. The college/university may also provide the county board of elections with a campus housing list, which will suffice if a student living in campus housing shows a valid student photo identification card. (Note: To use a document or list from a private college/university, the voter must also present an approved voter photo ID from that institution.)

Moved within the same precinct in the same county

Re-registration is not required in this situation, but the voter should notify the county board of elections of the voter’s new address at least 25 days before the election. The voter may also update their address using same-day registration during the in-person early voting period.

Because the polling place will be the same for the new and old address, voters should go to that polling place. Even if a voter has not notified the county board of elections of their new address by the voter registration deadline, voters are entitled to cast a regular ballot upon oral or written affirmation of the change of address before a precinct official at the time they cast their ballot.

Moved to a different precinct within the same county

Re-registration is not required in this situation, but the voter should notify the county board of elections of the voter’s new address at least 25 days before the election. The voter may also update their address using same-day registration during the in-person early voting period.

Voters who moved at least 30 days before the election within the same county can vote either at their new polling place upon written affirmation of the new address or at a central location in the county chosen by the county board.  

If a voter goes to their old polling place to vote, the precinct officials must: (1) send the voter to the new precinct; (2) if the registrant prefers, send the voter to vote at the central location chosen by the county board; or (3) permit the voter to vote at their old precinct using a provisional ballot. The provisional ballot will only be counted for all ballot items that the voter is eligible to vote for under state or federal law. 

Voters who moved within 30 days of the election must vote in their prior polling place. 

Moved to a different county within the state

If the voter moved at least 30 days before the election, the voter must update their registration with their new address (or if applicable, register to vote in their new county of residence) no later than 25 days before the election. The voter may also update their address using same-day registration during the in-person early voting period.

Voters who moved fewer than 30 days before Election Day must vote at the polling place that corresponds with their old address (and when they vote, they should complete a change of address form). They will be able to cast a regular ballot at the old polling place.

Moved from a different state

The voter is eligible to register to vote in North Carolina as long as the voter moved to the state at least 30 days before Election Day. 

The voter must submit their registration form at least 25 days before Election Day; or the voter can participate in Same Day Registration during the Early Voting period.

Voting Military

Service members and their dependents may register and request a ballot using the federal voter registration/ballot request form (“FPCA”). You will have the following identification options when completing the form:

• Last 4 Digits of your Social Security Number
• Option to Indicate that you do not have the Requested ID
• U.S. State or Territory or District Issued ID

Photo ID is not required for military or overseas voters who vote using special absentee voting procedures that federal law makes available for such voters

Voting Overseas

U.S. citizens living overseas may register and request a ballot using the overseas voter registration/ballot request form. You will have the following identification options when completing the form:

• Last 4 Digits of your Social Security Number
• Option to Indicate that you do not have the Requested ID
• U.S. State or Territory or District Issued ID

Photo ID is not required for military or overseas voters who vote using special absentee voting procedures that federal law makes available for such voters

In addition to using the North Carolina absentee ballot process described below, active duty military members, their dependents, and U.S. citizens living abroad may also apply to register and vote through special programs for military and overseas voters, specifically the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA).  

To register, military and overseas voters can fill out the registration application using the processes for registering described above. Military and overseas voters may register to receive an absentee ballot through the Federal Postcard Application (FPCA) or the Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB). The advantage of the FPCA is that the voter receives a ballot that includes all ballot choices, including local contests and ballot items. The FWAB is a simpler option if the voter only wants to vote in prominent federal contests, such as presidential elections. With a FWAB ballot, the voter may vote for all contests (federal, state and local) for which they are eligible, but the voter must get information for local contests and ballot items in order to write in a choice for those items. A military or overseas voter should only apply for an absentee ballot using either the FPCA or the FWAB, but not both. Generally, the FWAB serves as a backup to the FPCA. For most voters, the FPCA is the best option.

Photo ID is required for military or overseas voters using FPCA or FWAB.  Military and overseas voters must submit a copy of an acceptable photo ID or use an ID Exception Form when using these methods in order for their votes in state and local elections to count. If no ID or exception form is provided, only votes for federal contests will count. 

The deadline to register to vote and request an absentee ballot with the FPCA is 5pm ET on the day before Election Day.

UOCAVA citizens may complete an FPCA or FWAB and send the form to their county board of elections using one of these methods:

Online at the UOCAVA portal (https://votebymail.ncsbe.gov/app/uocava)

Mail: NC State Board of Elections 

PO Box 27255 Raleigh, NC 27611-7255 

Email: absentee@ncsbe.gov

Fax: (919) 715-0351
More information for military and overseas voters, including ballot return deadlines, can be found on the State Board of Elections website: https://www.ncsbe.gov/voting/military-and-overseas-voting.

A person is ineligible to register to vote or vote in North Carolina if they are serving a sentence for a felony conviction including any probation, post-release supervision, or parole. 

The following people are eligible to vote: (1) A person in jail awaiting trial for a felony but has not yet been convicted; (2) A person who has been convicted only of a misdemeanor; and (3)

A person convicted of a felony who has completed their sentence, including any probation, post-release supervision, or parole, or received a pardon. 

A person’s right to vote is automatically restored once they complete a felony sentence, including any probation, post-release supervision, or parole, or receive a pardon.

Although not necessary for voter registration, a person who completed their felony sentence should receive a Certificate of Restoration of Forfeited Rights of Citizenship. When registering to vote, bringing a copy of the certificate may help avoid potential issues. 
For specific questions or concerns about voting with a criminal record in North Carolina, email vote@forwardjustice.org or call 877-880-VOTE (877-880-8683).