GREENSBORO, N.C. — No matter which way you choose to vote this November 3, chances are you won't know the outcome of the election until a week or so later. Already, 163,000 North Carolinians have requested an absentee ballot. That means there will be a lot of paperwork to go through for the board of elections. In some states, their primary election results took several weeks, and voter turnout for primaries is usually much smaller than a general presidential election.
How will your absentee/mail-in votes be kept secure? What about your safety at the polls if you choose to vote in-person? Guilford County Board of Elections Director Charlie Collicutt answered your text questions on 2WTK. Here are a few highlights:
VOTING DATES:
September 4: NC begins mailing out absentee ballots to those who request them
October 9: Last day to register to vote
October 15-31: Early voting
October 27: Last day to request an absentee ballot
November 3: Election Day
VOTING IN-PERSON
"We're going to be opening a lot of early voting sites in a lot of days, big places-- gyms and such so we can do early voting. Our precinct officials will be wearing masks, plastic visors, we’ll have acrylic shields, gloves, disinfectant. We’ll be offering voters masks if they don't have one and we'll be offering curbside voting for those who due to a disability cannot get into the polling place," said Collicutt.
ABSENTEE/MAIL-IN BALLOTS
To get an absentee ballot, you must first fill out an absentee ballot request form.You can do this online by downloading the form and printing it out yourself. You can email, mail, fax, or call yourlocal Board of Elections to request the form be sent to you. You can also pick one up at the BOE.
Forms can be sent you by email, fax, and mail. But all ballots are mailed to you. If you are requesting an absentee ballot and are going to go through this process by mail only, you will want to give yourself several weeks to make sure all documents have time to be delivered.
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