Early voting begins this week

We answer commonly asked questions about the ins and outs of primary voting

Welcome back to Down from DC. Between the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics, there’s been a lot going on all week for a welcome respite from politics. And that was before the Buddhist monks, whose Walk for Peace took them through dozens of North Carolina communities last month, arrived in DC.

But there’s no escaping politics for long. With early voting in the 2026 primary beginning this week, we’re devoting today’s issue to answering some of the most common questions people have about the primary and what comes next this election year.

Today’s issue was written by Miriam Fabrycky, edited by Jane Cohen (both Wake Forest University student researchers) and by Phoebe, with research from the rest of our team.

How do I check whether I’m registered and what do I do if I’m not?

You can check your registration using the Voter Search tool from the N.C. State Board of Elections. If you’re not yet registered or need to update your registration, you may still do so through same-day registration at a polling site during the early voting period.

When and where do I vote?

There are three ways to vote in the primary: absentee-by-mail, in-person early voting and in-person on Election Day.

If you choose to vote absentee-by-mail in the primaries, you must request your ballot by Feb. 17 at 5 p.m. and return it by mail or in person to your county board of elections by Election Day, March 3. Be sure to follow the instructions carefully. More information can be found on the N.C. State Board of Elections website.

The in-person early voting period runs from Feb. 12 to Feb. 28 at 3 p.m. You may vote early at any early voting location in your county. Remember, these early voting sites may be different from your regular precinct.

If you decide to vote in-person on Election Day, March 3, you must go to your assigned polling location, which you can find using the Voter Search tool. If you’re in line to vote by 7:30 p.m., you may vote.

What ID do I need to bring with me?

To vote in North Carolina, you must show a photo ID (or include a photocopy of your ID with your ballot, if you are voting by mail). A full list of IDs that fit the requirement is available on the N.C. State Board of Elections website. If you experience a “reasonable impediment” to showing a photo ID, you may still vote by completing an ID Exception Form. A list of accepted impediments is also available on the N.C. State Board of Elections website.

What’s a provisional ballot and how do they work?

Election officials may not turn away anyone who wants to cast a ballot. If they are unsure whether you are eligible to vote, they will provide you with a provisional ballot and research your eligibility afterwards. If you are eligible, they will count your vote.

About 70,000 registered voters identified by the N.C. Board of Election’s Registration Repair Project missed the deadline last week to correct missing information. You can find out if you’re one of those voters here. If you’re on that list, try to vote early when same-day registration will allow you to add any missing information to your voter record. If you wait until the general election, you will likely be asked to cast a provisional ballot.

How do I find out who’s on my ballot?

The non-partisan organization You Can Vote has an easy-to-use voter guide, with a tab you can use to create a replica of the ballot you’ll see when you go to vote. The ballot will include candidates running in local, state and federal races. If you are registered with a political party, you may only vote in that party’s primary election. If you aren’t registered with a party, you may choose which party’s primary you vote in.

What’s the calendar for the rest of the election?

The general election will take place on Nov. 3. The registration deadline is Oct. 9. In-person early voting for the general election will take place from Oct. 15 to Oct. 31, and the deadline to request an absentee ballot is Oct. 20.

For readers who want to learn more about voting, we are reprinting excerpts from a Q&A with Caitlin Metzguer, the deputy director of the nonpartisan You Can Vote, published this week by NC Local.

What are your recommendations for alerting people about the Registration Repair Project?

Caitlin Metzguer: The Registration Repair Project is still causing a little bit of confusion. The best thing to do if you find yourself on the list is to update your registration, which you can do at early voting. So, the message hasn’t really changed since ‘25. If you’re on the voter Registration Repair list, take care of that by taking action with your county board of elections. Now that we’re past the voter registration deadline, the best thing to do is utilize same-day registration and go vote early between February 12th to 28th.

There’s definitely been a lot of press coverage about Registration Repair, and there are still about 70,000 people on the list. That’s a small percentage compared to over 7 million voters, so I wouldn’t lead with that. I don’t think that’s the takeaway from this election. But because it rolled out in 2025, and more people will vote in 2026 because it’s a bigger election, there’s likely going to be people who find out that they’re on the list when they go to vote. That’s okay, don’t panic, just take care of it right then, and don’t go home without voting if you are an eligible voter.

We’ve seen a lawsuit by students challenging the rollback of early voting sites on several campuses. What are your recommendations here?

Caitlin Metzguer: There’s been a lot of press coverage of course on not picking campus sites for early voting. However, we still want to promote early voting, and I know the campuses are doing a great job of supporting their students to go out and vote.

It’s unfortunate that those campus sites were not picked, and there’s another round of early voting advocacy over the summer, so if folks want to see more access in the fall for the general election, there’s time to take action. I would say go to your local board of elections meeting, once they start talking about early voting again, and just start advocating for the sites that you want to see.

What guides are you offering for the primary, either new ones or existing ones?

Caitlin Metzguer: We have a communications toolkit, which is similar to the ones we’ve done in the past with sample emails, sample social media, sample graphics that groups can use, including newsrooms if you wanted.

We also have a high school toolkit that is specifically focused on supporting young voters and an updated campus toolkit for college-age students. People can download those and use that content.

Also with regard to young voters, one thing to highlight about the primary is that voters who are 17 right now, but will be 18 by November 3rd, can vote in the primary as a 17-year-old. So, there are some great messages to share specifically with those young voters who might think they have to wait, but they are eligible, as long as they’re 18 on or before November 3rd, Election Day.

You Can Vote is on the ground, talking to voters and would-be voters all year round. What have you learned about the best ways of reaching people with information about voting?

Caitlin Metzguer: Our Voter Guide is the best snapshot of resources and also our Ballot Builder. But it’s really having conversations with people about what’s on the ballot. It’s not an effective message to say, “Go vote, go vote, go vote.” It’s more effective to say: “The primary is on March 3rd. That’s when we whittle down a whole bunch of candidates who voters want to see on the general election ballot.” It’s really helpful to explain what a primary is.

And talking to people about what’s on the ballot in terms of the issues they care about. That’s always going to be the most effective conversation. If you’re interested in education, we’re voting for school board, we’re voting for county commissioners which fund our schools. We’re voting for the legislature, which is supposed to fund everything in our state, right? If you’re interested in public safety, there are sheriffs on the ballot, district attorney, clerk of courts; the state Supreme Court is back on the ballot this year. Meeting people where they are by matching their interest with the office that impacts that issue is always going to be the most effective conversation that we can have.

Anything else you’d like to share that’s important to be thinking about, or to be communicating about how to vote this primary season?

Caitlin Metzguer: I will mention Voter ID, which is still required in North Carolina. You do not need a Real ID to vote. A normal driver’s license works, if that’s what you have. There’s a full list of accepted IDs, and it’s not too late to get one from the county boards of elections if you still need one. Each county board offers a free photo ID to anyone registered in that county. Finally, if people do not have photo ID, there is an exception form, and people should still go vote and ask to use that exception form. They’ll need to give a reason why they don’t have an ID, but will still be offered a ballot.

Lastly, I’ll just mention there’s an Election Protection Hotline, and so if anyone has questions, problems, issues, they can always reach out to 888-OUR-VOTE, which is the North Carolina nonpartisan Election Protection hotline, and it’s run by trained volunteers and election attorneys who answer questions. They’ll be available starting today, right as early voting begins.

You can read more by NC Local here. As always, we encourage our readers to share this issue with friends and neighbors. And if you haven’t subscribed already, please do – it’s free.