By Staff
Ends the Saturday before Election Day
By MIKE VOSS, Contributing Editor
One-stop, early voting in municipal elections begins today across North Carolina.
Early voting concludes at 1 p.m. Nov. 3 in Beaufort, Martin and Washington counties. Hyde County has no municipal elections.
Although Oct. 12 was the deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 6 elections, a new state law provides some people another opportunity to register and mark ballots before Election Day.
The new law allows qualified residents to register to vote and mark ballots on the same day during the early-voting period. Because the new procedure is permitted only during the early-voting period, it cannot be used on Election Day, before the early-voting period or the days between the end of the early-voting period and Election Day.
The new law doesn’t require people who register to vote during the early-voting period to mark ballots on the day they registers. After registering, a voter may vote later, as long as its during the early-voting period.
Early voting, also known as one-stop voting, takes place at a county’s board of elections office or other designated one-stop polling places in that county. In Beaufort, Martin and Washington counties, one-stop voting may be conducted at the boards of elections. Those counties have no other one-stop polling places.
Absentee voting by mail began Oct. 5.
The last day to request an absentee ballot is one week before any primary or election. The request must be received by a county’s board of elections by 5 p.m. on the Tuesday before the primary or election. Absentee ballots must be returned to a county’s board of elections by 5 p.m. on the day before a primary or election. Absentee ballots must be delivered by mail, commercial courier service or in person.