Deadlines for election participation
Turn in your new or updated voter registration form to the Board of Elections 25 days before an election. If you miss this deadline, you can register and vote on the same day during Early Voting.
You must have lived at your current address for 30 days before the election or vote at your previous address.
When are the elections?
Every year, North Carolina will have an election of some kind. Elections are held for municipal and county officials, school board members, state positions (such as school superintendent, treasurer, and others), state legislators, judges, governor, US representatives and senators, and the President of the United States. First, a primary election in the spring will decide a party's candidates. Second during the November election, candidates will run against competitors from other parties for the partisan offices. Candidates for non-partisan positions will participate only in the November election. See the Board of Elections website for more information . Sample ballots are also available from this website 50 days prior to an election. Proposed referenda or constitutional amendments may be on your November ballot.
In the Spring Primary you are voting for your registered party’s candidates. Unaffiliated voters may also vote by choosing a ballot from one of the political parties. In the November General Election, all party’s selected candidates will compete for the partisan offices and the non-partisan positions will also be filled.
What's on my ballot?
Find out what's on your ballot using VOTE411.org, a nonpartisan online voter guide. Shortly before the polls open you will also find candidate information on VOTE411. The League of Women Voters VOTE411.org site compares candidate positions side-by-side.
For some elections, LWV Henderson Co. sponsors candidate events. Check the Events tab and our Facebook page for information related to local elections.
What is Early Voting?
Early voting (formerly known as "one stop early voting") allows any registered voter to cast a ballot on select days prior to Election Day. Unlike on Election Day, when registered voters can vote only at their specific precinct, early voting allows registered voters to vote at any designated voting site in the county.
During early voting updates to your voter registration are limited to name and address changes. You cannot change your part affiliation at early voting.
People not yet registered may register and vote on the same day during early voting. To do so, they will need to provide proof of residence. Acceptable documents are a NC driver license, a government-issued photo ID, a utility bill, a bank statement, a paycheck, or a college ID with proof of campus habitation.
The days, times, and locations for early voting can be found on the web sites for the League of Women Voters Henderson County and the Henderson County Board of Elections.
Bring Your ID
As of 2023, North Carolina requires a photo id to be presented when
voting either by absentee ballot or in person. The details on acceptable
IDs can be found at this link to the Board of Elections.
Absentee Ballots
Any registered voter in North Carolina may request a mail-in absentee ballot. No special circumstance or reason is needed to receive and vote a mail-in absentee ballot.
You can request an absentee ballot from the Board of Elections.
Be mindful of the directions and deadlines for requesting and submitting an absentee ballot. It must be received by the deadline, not merely mailed by the deadline.
Voting options for college students
Students attending colleges in North Carolina may register to vote in the county/state of their home address or in the county/state where they are attending college.
Once they have decided which address to use for their registration, college students have the same three options for voting as all other voters: absentee, early voting, or voting on Election Day.
Problems at the polling place: Provisional Ballots
If there is a question about a person’s eligibility to vote in general or in a specific election, that person is entitled to a provisional ballot, which is held aside until research can resolve whatever question is raised. The information will be presented to the members of the county Board of Elections, who will make the final determination.
Election results are not finalized until all provisional ballots that are eligible have been included in the total count.
Provisional voting is fail-safe voting. Each person who shows up to vote be given that opportunity, under state law. Voters should not be turned away without voting. Election officials will explain what needs to be done to resolve the question to anyone given a provisional ballot.
Voter Accommodations
North Carolina law allows for any voter to receive assistance from an immediate family member in entering or exiting a voting booth as well as preparing a ballot. N.C. law defines an immediate family member as: spouse, parent, grandparent, sibling, child, grandchild, mother- or father-in-law, son- or daughter-in-law, stepparent or stepchild.
Voters who are physically disabled, blind, or illiterate and so are unable to enter the booth or mark a ballot without assistance can receive help from any person of their choice except from an employer or a union representative.
Any voter who is able to travel to the voting place, but because of age or physical disability and physical barriers encountered at the voting place is unable to enter the voting enclosure to vote in person without physical assistance, will be allowed to vote with curbside voting, which is available at all North Carolina voting sites during the early voting period and on Election Day. Look for signage indicating curbside voting. An election official will come to the vehicle to obtain the voter’s name and address. Before a ballot is issued to a curbside voter, the voter must swear an oath affirming his or her qualification to use curbside voting. A curbside voter can receive the same assistance provided to any other voter.
Every precinct must have at least one accessible voting machine available for use by voters with special needs during both early voting and Election Day voting.
