All registered voters in North Carolina may request a mail-in absentee ballot for the 2026 General Election. Requests must be received by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, October 20th.
All voters wishing to vote in 2026 General Election must be registered to vote by Friday, October 9th. Click here to register to vote online.
All voters wishing to vote in 2026 General Election must be registered to vote by Friday, October 9th. Voter registration form can be downloaded on the North Carolina State Board of Education website. To request a paper voter registration application be mailed to you, please contact your county’s Board of Elections office. The complete form must be submitted by mail or in person to your county’s Board of Elections by the deadline.
All voters wishing to vote in 2026 General Election must be registered to vote by Friday, October 9th. Voter registration form can be downloaded on the North Carolina State Board of Education website. To request a paper voter registration application be mailed to you, please contact your county’s Board of Elections office. The complete form must be submitted by mail or in person to your county’s Board of Elections by the deadline.
Same-day voter registration is also available during early voting for 2026 General Election. For same-day registration, proof of residency is required. Early voting period is on October 15th through October 31st.
Polling place hours: 6:30 am – 7:30 pm
Voters must show an acceptable photo ID when voting in person during early voting or on Election Day. Acceptable IDs include a North Carolina driver’s license, DMV-issued state ID, and U.S. passport. Voters who cannot present an acceptable photo ID may vote provisionally and complete a Photo ID Exception Form. See the North Carolina State Board of Elections website for acceptable IDs and exception procedures.
Early voting in North Carolina will take place from October 15th through October 31st. In North Carolina, this period is sometimes called “one-stop early voting.” Early voting locations can be found on the North Carolina State Board of Elections website.
Same-day voter registration is also available during early voting for 2026 General Election. For same-day registration, proof of residency is required. Early voting period is on October 15th through October 31st.
All registered voters in North Carolina may request a mail-in absentee ballot for the 2026 General Election. Your request must be received by your county board of elections by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, October 20th. Request a ballot through the NC Absentee Ballot Portal or submit the official paper request form.
You may update your voter registration through the NCDMV’s online service or by submitting a paper registration application. Name and address changes may also be made during early voting. An address change within the same county may be updated on Election Day; voters who move to another county should check the registration requirements for their new county.
U.S. SENATE
A U.S. Senator serves a term of 6 years. One of the two U.S. Senate positions in North Carolina are open. Below are the candidates for the 2026 General Election. Incumbents are denoted with an asterisk (*).
▹ Roy Cooper (D) vs. Michael Whatley (R) vs. Shannon W. Bray (Libertarian Party) vs. Michael Dublin (Green Party
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
A U.S. House Representative serves a term of 2 years. All positions in the 14 congressional districts of North Carolina are on the ballot. Find your congressional district on the U.S. House of Representatives website. Below are the candidates to be voted in the 2026 General Election. Incumbents are denoted with an asterisk (*).
▹ 1st district: Donald Davis* (D) vs. Laurie Buckhout (R) vs. Tom Bailey (Libertarian Party)
▹ 2nd district: Deborah Ross* (D) vs. Eugene Douglass (R) vs. Matthew Laszacs (Libertarian Party)
▹ 3rd district: Raymond Smith Jr. (D) vs. Gregory Murphy (R) vs. Daniel Cavender (Libertarian Party)
▹ 4th district: Valerie Foushee* (D) vs. Mahesh Ganorkar (R) vs. Guy Meilleur (Libertarian Party)
▹ 5th district: Chuck Hubbard (D) vs. Virginia Foxx* (R) vs. Robert Luffman (Libertarian Party)
▹ 6th district: Cyril Jefferson (D) vs. Addison McDowell* (R)
▹ 7th district: Kimberly Hardy (D) vs. David Rouzer* (R) vs. Maad Abu-Ghazalah (Libertarian Party)
▹ 8th district: Colby Watson (D) vs. Mark Harris (R) vs. Bo Whitehead (Green Party)
▹ 9th district: Richard Ojeda (D) vs. Richard Hudson* (R)
▹ 10th district: Ashley Bell (D) vs. Pat Harrigan* (R) vs. Steven Feldman (Libertarian Party)
▹ 11th district: Jamie Ager (D) vs. Jennifer Balkcom (R) vs. Travis Groo (Libertarian Party)
▹ 12th district: Alma Adams* (D) vs. Jack Codiga (R)
▹ 13th district: Paul Barringer (D) vs. Brad Knott* (R) vs. Steven Swinton (Libertarian Party)
▹ 14th district: Lakesha Womack (D) vs. Timothy Moore (R)
NORTH CAROLINA STATE SENATE
A State Senator in North Carolina serves a term of 2 years. All positions in the 50 North Carolina State Senate Districts are on the ballot. Find your legislative district on the North Carolina General Assembly website.
NORTH CAROLINA STATE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
A North Carolina House Representative serves a term of 2 years. All positions in the 120 North Carolina State House Districts are on the ballot. Find your legislative district on the North Carolina General Assembly website.
NORTH CAROLINA SUPREME COURT
Justices serve eight-year terms. One of the court’s 7 seats is on the ballot in 2026. Voters statewide participate in this election. An asterisk (*) denotes an incumbent on this court.
▹ Anita Earls* (D) vs. Sarah Stevens (R)
NORTH CAROLINA COURT OF APPEALS
Judges serve eight-year terms. Three of the court’s 15 seats are on the ballot in 2026. Voters statewide vote in each contest. An asterisk (*) denotes an incumbent on this court.
▹ Seat 1: John S. Arrowood* (D) vs. Michael C. Byrne (R)
▹ Seat 2: Tobias (Toby) Hampson* (D) vs. George Cooper Bell (R)
▹ Seat 3: Christine Marie Walczyk (D) vs. Craig Collins (R)
STATEWIDE BALLOT MEASURES
▹ Photo ID Requirement for Voting: Amend the state constitution to require photo identification before voting for all voters, rather than only those voting in person.
▹ Maximum Income Tax Rate of 3.5%: Amend the state constitution to prohibit the state income tax rate from exceeding 3.5%.
A complete list of all positions, candidates, and ballot measures for each voter’s address can be found on the North Carolina State Board of Elections website. Information on all positions and candidates for local elections will be provided by each County Board of Elections‘ office.
North Carolina youth who pre-register to vote will have their registration become active once they turn 18 years old. Pre-registration does not change the voting age, which is 18. Instead, it allows eligible North Carolina residents aged 16 to complete the voter registration form providing sufficient time and opportunity to get ready to vote. Methods and qualification for pre-registration are the same as those for regular voter registration, except for age.
A provisional ballot is a regular ballot that is placed in a special envelope prior to being put in the ballot box. It is available for the voters whose identification is not verified at a polling place. A provisional ballot may be offered to those who believe they are registered to vote even though their names are not on the official voter registration list at the polling place and those who applied to vote by mail but would like to cast a vote in person.
Every voter who casts a provisional ballot has the right to find out from their county elections official if the ballot was counted and, if not, the reason why it was not counted.
North Carolinians living away from home while attending a college, trade school or technical school, you may choose to register to vote using your home away from home address you use while at school or your traditional home address. Choosing which address to use when you register to vote is a personal decision. Whatever you decide, you may not register to vote in two places during the same election cycle.
North Carolinians living temporarily outside the U.S., whether a student or otherwise, may register to vote and apply to vote by mail using the Federal Post Card Application.
You must be a U.S. citizen and have lived in the county where you are registering for at least 30 days before Election Day. You must be 18 by the general election. Eligible 16- and 17-year-olds may pre-register, and 17-year-olds may vote in a primary if they will be 18 by the general election.
You must not be serving a felony sentence, including imprisonment, probation, parole, or post-release supervision. After completing your felony sentence, you may register again.
You are required to register to vote only once. However, if information like your name or address changes, you need to fill out the voter registration form again to keep your voter information up to date. Check your voter registration information at this link.
KAGC does not endorse any party or candidate; as such KAGC does not guide anyone to vote for, or be affiliated with, any specific party. In most parts of the United States, the Republican Party and Democratic Party are two major political parties. Throughout U.S. history, 19 presidents have been Republican (including Presidents Lincoln, Reagan, Bush, and Trump) and 16 have been Democrats (including Presidents Franklin Roosevelt, Kennedy, Clinton, Obama and Biden). You may find more information on their respective websites.
Declaring a party affiliation is optional. Affiliated voters generally vote in their own party’s primary. Unaffiliated voters may choose one participating party’s primary ballot, but may not vote in more than one party’s primary. In the general election, voters may choose candidates regardless of party affiliation.
In the primary election in North Carolina, only voters with a party affiliation are allowed to vote for their party’s nominees. Voters unaffiliated with any party may participate in the primaries of a party, depending on party-specific policies for this election. In the general election, however, voters are free to vote for any candidate of their choice for each position on the ballot.
On top of the ballot across the U.S. this year will be the candidates for U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives. In North Carolina, there are also candidates for the North Carolina State Senate, North Carolina State House of Representatives, State Supreme Court, Court of Appeals Judge, as well as several local positions. For more information, please see the section above on this page.
To find your congressional district, visit the U.S. House of Representatives website and enter your zip code in the search bar on the top right-hand corner of the main page. For information on your North Carolina legislative district, please visit the North Carolina General Assembly website.
You do not have to vote in every contest. Leaving a contest blank does not invalidate your votes in other contests. For a write-in vote to count, the candidate must meet the applicable qualification requirements. Follow the ballot’s write-in instructions.
Every time there is a change in your address, whether in-state or out of state, you must update the information by filling out a voter registration form. Government agencies often mail election-related information to your address on file, which sometimes requires a prompt response. When a response is missing for a certain period of time, your voter registration may be considered inactive and is subject to elimination.
Check your registration through the Voter Search tool. An inactive voter is still registered and may vote after confirming their address. If your record is missing or inaccurate, contact your county board of elections to determine whether you need to register or update your information.
Yes. North Carolina uses licensed-driver records and/or voter registration records to compile its jury pool. People who are not registered to vote may also be selected through driver records.