The early voting period begins Thursday, October 20, and ends Saturday, November 5 at 3:00 p.m. Election Day is Tuesday, November 8. While early voting and election day voting are both forms of in-person voting, there are specific rules and procedures between these two voting methods. Voters should be aware of these key differences to avoid common frustrations that can be experienced on election day.
Alexander County Board of Elections Director Patrick Wike said that a common frustration experienced by voters on election day involves going to the wrong polling place. Another frustration is appearing to vote on election day and not being registered to vote in their county of residence.
“These two frustrations are entirely preventable if voters do a little bit of homework on their end,” Wike said. “Early voting provides an all-purpose solution that resolves many of the frustrations that can be experienced on election day. Voters who choose to wait until election day are encouraged to ensure they are registered to vote in their county of residence before the registration deadline of October 14 and that they know their election day polling place assignment.”
Below are the key elements of early voting and election day voting:
Early Voting
• By North Carolina law, early voting is viewed as “in-person absentee” voting as you vote absent on election day. No special circumstance or reason is needed to vote early.
• The early voting period begins October 20 and ends November 5.
• Eligible individuals may vote at any early voting site in their county from October 20 until November 5.
• Early voting sites include the Alexander Senior Center in Taylorsville, Bethlehem Community Fire & Rescue, and Hiddenite Volunteer Fire Department.
• Individuals not registered to vote may register and vote at an early voting site via a process known as same-day registration. Same-day registrants must provide proof of where they live.
• Voters who need to update their address can easily update their address and vote at the same early voting site. Waiting until election day to update an address may cause a voter to be directed to another precinct polling place or the need to vote a provisional ballot.
• There is no in-person voting on November 6 or 7.
Election Day Voting
• Election Day is Tuesday, November 8.
• Election day polling places will open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m.
• Each voter is assigned an election day precinct polling place.
• The precinct polling place is assigned based on the voter’s residential address.
• Voters who need to update their address may be directed to another precinct polling place or may be required to vote a provisional ballot.
• Same-day registration is not available on election day. The deadline to register to vote on election day is October 14 (25 days before election day).
• Going to the last place you remember voting is not always going to get you to the correct voting place on election day. If you wait until November 8, make sure you know your assigned precinct polling place.
View additional election information online at https://alexandercountync.gov/departments/board-of-elections. For more information, contact the Alexander County Board of Elections at (828) 632-2990 or elections@alexandercountync.gov.