RALEIGH, N.C. (WITN) – As one-stop voting has begun across North Carolina, state election officials want to make sure voters have all the information they need before doing their civil duty.

The State Board of Elections has shared ten things you should know about early voting. If you need to register to vote, you can do it and then vote through November 2nd, three days ahead of the November 5th Election Day.

1. Early voting locations. Eligible voters may cast a ballot at any early voting site in their county. For sites and hours in all 100 counties, use the Early Voting Sites Search tool. Also see Early Voting Sites for the November 5, 2024 General Election (PDF). The busiest days for early voting are often the first day and the last couple of days.
2. Candidate info. Sample ballots are available through the Voter Search tool. For information on candidates for the state Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, see the State Board’s Judicial Voter Guide: 2024 General Election. The Guide is also being mailed to all NC households. Election officials do not provide information about candidates for other contests, but some media outlets and advocacy groups do. Many candidates also have websites and social media accounts. Being familiar with your ballot choices will help your voting experience go more smoothly.
3. Bring Your Photo ID. Voters will be asked to show photo ID when they check in to vote. Most voters will show their driver’s license, but many other forms of photo ID will be accepted. Voters who do not have photo ID can meet the photo ID requirement by either (1) filling out a form explaining why they are unable to show ID, or (2) showing their ID at the county board of elections office by 5 p.m. November 14. More information about the photo ID requirement is available at BringItNC.gov.
4. Free Photo IDs. Any registered voter who needs a photo ID can get one for free from their county board of elections office during the early voting period, which ends on November 2. For details, go to Get a Free Voter Photo ID.
5. Register to Vote. The regular voter registration deadline was October 11. But any North Carolinian who is eligible to vote may still register and vote during the early voting period. Registrants must provide proof of their residence address, which can be a driver’s license or other government document, paycheck, utility bill, or bank statement. For more information, visit Register in Person During Early Voting.
6. Updating Registration. During early voting, registered voters may update their name or address within the same county, if necessary.
7. Absentee Ballot Drop-off. Voters who vote by absentee ballot can return it by mail or hand it to an election official at an early voting site in their county. They can also drop it off in person to their county board of elections office. Voters registered in the 25 counties in the Helene disaster area in Western North Carolina may return their absentee ballot to any early voting site in the state during early voting hours. Ballots will be kept secure and delivered to the voter’s county board of elections for processing. For more information on returning absentee-by-mail ballots, see Detailed Instructions to Vote By Mail.
8. Voting in Person Instead of Absentee. Voters who requested an absentee ballot but have not yet returned it may choose instead to vote in person during the early voting period or on Election Day, November 5. Voters may discard the absentee ballot and do not need to bring it to a voting site.
9. Peace at the Polls. All voters should respect the rights of others to participate in the election. Election officials are trained to quickly address incidents that might interfere with a voter’s ability to cast their ballot. Intimidating any voter is a crime. Voters who feel harassed or intimidated should notify an election official immediately.
10. Voters in Need of Assistance. Voters in need of assistance may bring an eligible person to help them enter and exit the polling place or to help them complete their ballot according to the voter’s instructions. Election officials are also available to help voters. Curbside voting is also available for voters unable to enter the voting site. For more information, visit Curbside Voting.

For more information about early voting, visit Vote Early in Person.

Copyright 2024 WITN. All rights reserved.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Early in-person voting was set to begin statewide Thursday in the presidential battleground of North Carolina, including in mountainous areas where thousands of potential voters still lack power and clean running water after Hurricane Helene’s epic flooding.

More than 400 locations in all 100 counties were expected to open Thursday morning for the 17-day early vote period, State Board of Elections Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell said this week. Only four of 80 sites in the 25 western counties hardest hit by the storm will not open.

“We lost just a few — despite the extensive damage, loss of power, water, internet and phone service, and the washing out of roads throughout the region,” said Brinson Bell, who praised emergency management officials, utilities and election workers. “It’s an effort all North Carolinians should be proud of.”

Helene’s arrival three weeks ago in the Southeast decimated remote towns throughout Appalachia and killed at least 246 people, with a little over half of the storm-related deaths in North Carolina. It was the deadliest hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland since Katrina in 2005.

Early in-person voting, which continues through Nov. 2, is very popular in North Carolina. More than 3.6 million ballots — 65% of all cast ballots — were cast this way in the 2020 general election. In the 2016 election, 62% of all cast ballots were cast during early in-person voting.

Brinson Bell said she didn’t expect a decrease in the number of voters casting ballots early. Instead, she said, it was possible it could increase as some voters in storm-impacted areas may not want to wait for Election Day. Early in-person voting also allows someone to register to vote and cast a ballot simultaneously.

Absentee voting in North Carolina began a few weeks ago, with well over 60,000 completed ballots turned in so far, election officials said. People displaced by Helene are being allowed to drop off their absentee ballot at any early voting site in the state.

The importance of early voting wasn’t lost upon the presidential campaigns of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

On Thursday, Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz was expected to campaign in Winston-Salem and in Durham, where he was to be joined by former President Bill Clinton.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi and Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley were expected to appear on the “Team Trump Bus Tour” when it resumes Thursday in Rutherford County, which was among the hardest-hit areas.

The North Carolina ballot also includes races for governor, attorney general and several other statewide positions. All U.S. House and General Assembly seats also are up for reelection.

County election boards have received flexibility to modify early voting sites, including locations and their daily hours. In Buncombe County, which includes the region’s population center of Asheville, a city devastated by the storm, 10 of the 14 planned early voting sites will be open.

In Watauga County, home to Boone and Appalachian State University, the board adjusted early-voting hours to avoid evening travel for voters and poll workers. They also expanded weekend voting options.

Watauga elections Director Matt Snyder said Wednesday having all six sites ready for Thursday was a feat his office didn’t expect in Helene’s immediate aftermath. But election officials have been working weekends to get prepared.

“It’s exhausting,” Snyder said. “It’s 16-hour days … but everybody seems to pitch in.”

Officials in the 25 counties affected by the storm were still evaluating Election Day polling locations, with the “vast majority” expected to be available to voters, Brinson Bell said.

This is the first presidential general election for which North Carolina voters must show photo identification. Someone who has lost their ID because of the storm can fill out an exception form.

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Associated Press writers Gary D. Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina; Christina A. Cassidy in Atlanta; and Christine Fernando in Chicago contributed to this report.

DANDRIDGE, Tenn. (WVLT) – You might have noticed a convoy of trucks carrying farm supplies through East Tennessee Wednesday. It marked the latest effort from a group out of Kentucky hoping to help out farmers who were impacted by Hurricane Helene.

The project was prompted by a group of farmers out of Campbellsville, Kentucky.

Kyle Milby was one of the many making the trip from Kentucky to Spruce Pine, North Carolina. He and the rest of the convoy stopped briefly, along with their Tennessee Highway Patrol escort, in Dandridge.

“We’re just farmers helping farmers, so we’re just going to stick up for one another,” Milby said. “We feel like as farmers, we’re some of the most resilient people on the earth. We just want to reach out to help one another.”

The convoy included hay, livestock feed, fencing supplies, fuel and more. Milby said everything was given through their local FFA chapter and private donations.

“Farmers gave our hay, truckers gave their trucks and time and we just all pitched together for the cause,” he said. “We live in the greatest country there is. I am proud to be a part of this. It’s not me whose done this; all I’ve done is make a few phone calls. The Lord made all this happen and with the help of a lot of good friends and neighbors.”

The group brought supplies all the way to North Carolina Wednesday.

Copyright 2024 WVLT. All rights reserved.