Early Voting Begins in North Carolina Municipal Elections

As fall takes hold, hundreds of municipalities across North Carolina are gearing up for their upcoming elections, with early in-person voting now underway for mayoral races and city council seats. The State Board of Elections has announced that over 460 cities, towns, and villages are participating in these elections, which will reach their crescendo on November 7. Notable locations include Charlotte, Chapel Hill, Durham, and Fayetteville. Early voting is available in all but 80 of these municipalities, commencing on Thursday and running until November 4, with mail-in absentee voting already underway in these early-vote areas.

In the lead-up to these municipal elections, some localities held primary or general elections in September and October. In those races, voters faced the challenge of complying with North Carolina's new photo identification requirement, a measure that gained the state Supreme Court's approval in April.

For the current elections, nearly 400 municipalities in North Carolina have initiated early voting, which will persist until November 4. According to Karen Brinson Bell, the Executive Director of State Elections, the majority of voters have successfully presented qualifying identification this year, although some have made use of exception forms to cast their ballots. The true test for voter identification will materialize during the 2024 presidential-year elections.

Additionally, for those residing in areas where early voting is in progress, the opportunity for same-day voter registration and casting of ballots is available at the voting sites.