Today is the deadline for North Carolina voters to register to vote in the Nov. 4 general election.

People wanting to register have until 5 p.m. to do so.

In a related voting matter, the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday blocked a federal appeals court’s ruling from taking effect. The appeals court’s ruling, issued last week, would have restored same-day registration and out-of-precinct voting in North Carolina for the Nov. 4 election.

A majority (two justices dissented) on the nation’s highest court agreed to stop the ruling of the 4^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that set aside parts of the 2013 election laws approved by the N.C. General Assembly. The high court’s decision means all the 2013 election laws remain in effect for the upcoming general election.

There will be no same-day registration (voters register and mark ballots on the same day) when the early voting period begins Oct. 23. Election Day ballots cast in the wrong precincts will not be counted.

The North Carolina NAACP issued the following statement:

“We are disappointed with the Supreme Court’s ruling today,” said the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, president of the North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP. “Tens of thousands of North Carolina voters, especially African-American voters, have relied on same-day registration, as well as the counting of ballots that were cast out of precinct, for years. As the appeals court correctly concluded, eliminating these measures will cause irreparable harm of denying citizens their right to vote in the November election — a right that, once lost, can never be recovered. The Forward Together Moral Movement will continue our fight for voting rights, making sure that, county by county, as many votes as possible are counted despite the barriers posed by the Supreme Court’s ruling. We will also charge onward in court, in the full trial next summer, to ensure that this restrictive and discriminatory law is permanently overturned.”

Gov. Pat McCrory released the following statement: “I am pleased that the U.S. Supreme Court has ensured this popular and common sense bill will apply to the upcoming election. We respect the legal process and thank the Supreme Court justices for protecting the integrity of our elections.”

In Beaufort County, one-stop voting ends at 1 p.m. Nov. 1. The last day to request an absentee ballot by mail is Oct. 28. The last day to return an absentee ballot by mail is Nov. 4. Canvassing of ballots begins Nov. 14. The last day to file and election protest is Nov. 18. The statewide canvass of election returns is set for Nov. 25.