North Carolina

Early voting underway; here’s what you need to know

Published

1 year ago

October 17, 2024

Early voting underway; here’s what you need to know

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.

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Updating Registration. During early voting, registered voters may update their name or address within the same county, if necessary.
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.
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.
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.
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.

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North Carolina

Asheville Orchid Festival brings ‘best of the best’ to region

Published

1 hour ago

March 23, 2026

Press Room

Asheville Orchid Festival brings ‘best of the best’ to region

Staff reports
| Asheville Citizen Times

ASHEVILLE – The Asheville Orchid Festival will return in all its showy glory for 24th time March 27-29.

The festival, hosted by the Western North Carolina Orchid Society and the North Carolina Arboretum, will have an “Orchid Kingdom” theme this year, and will be an American Orchid Society sanctioned judging event.

Festivalgoers can expect to experience world-class orchid growers and breeders, regional orchid societies displays and hundreds of orchids presented in displays.

Orchids will be for sale from across the United States and Ecuador and will include rare species and cutting-edge hybrids.

“The Asheville Orchid Festival has been recognized as one of the best orchid shows in the country today,” Mike Mims, past president of the WNC Orchid Society said. “A huge orchid festival that is unlike any other orchid event in the region and lures the best of the best in the orchid industry to come to Asheville for a few days to engage and show off.”

WNC Orchid Society President Graham Ramsey, and his wife, artist Leslie Keller, each year create a theme for the festival.

Last year the two created the “House of Orchids” theme to transport visitors to another time, with a Victorian-inspired model greenhouse.

“Usually we arrive at a theme, believe it or not, when we’re out hiking. We try to think of a theme that we can also come up with a neat display to match,” Ramsey previously told the Citizen Times.

In 2023, for the “Orchid Express” theme, Ramsey and Keller created a 24-foot-train that functioned as an eye-catching display for many orchids featured by the festival.

The Asheville Orchid Festival is one of the most important events of the year for the WNCOS. Beyond the opportunity for members of the society to “strut their stuff” as Ramsey put it, the event also provides crucial funding for the nonprofit’s operations.

Ramsey said the group welcomes any orchid enthusiast, “whether you have one orchid on your windowsill or 1,000 orchids in your greenhouse.”

He encourages anyone with even a passing interest in orchids to stop by the show this weekend.

“When you walk into the auditorium and see all the orchids on display, it’ll just blow your mind,” he said.

If you go

The Asheville Orchid Festival will be 4-7:30 p.m. March 27 and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. March 28-29 at the North Carolina Arboretum. Admission is $5 for attendees older than 12 and free for WNC Orchid Society members.

As of March 1, parking fees were increased to $25 for personal/standard vehicles. On the first Tuesday of every month, a $10 discount is offered for personal vehicle parking.

Admission fees include all orchid exhibits, programs and educational lectures and benefit the Western North Carolina Orchid Society to help expand the mission of “sharing the excitement and joy of cultivating orchids and promoting orchid conservation.”

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North Carolina

Maryland’s season ends with 74-66 loss to North Carolina in women’s NCAA Tournament

Published

14 hours ago

March 22, 2026

Press Room

Maryland’s season ends with 74-66 loss to North Carolina in women’s NCAA Tournament

Elina Aarnisalo had 21 points, Lanie Grant scored 20, and North Carolina used a strong fourth quarter to beat Maryland 74-66 on Sunday and reach the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row.

Nyla Harris had 14 points and eight rebounds and Indya Nivar added 11 points to help the fourth-seeded Tar Heels (28-7) advance in the Fort Worth 1 Regional later in the week. They will play the winner of No. 1 UConn vs. No. 9 Syracuse.

“We just had to stay aggressive,” North Carolina coach Courtney Banghart said. “But you don’t go this long into the season and not trust your (players). These are close games. We know they’re going to be. We’re prepared for it. I trust them.”

Oluchi Okananwa, who helped eliminate North Carolina last March in the Sweet 16 when she played for Duke, scored 21 points for No. 5 seed Maryland (24-9). Addi Mack had 13 points and Mir McLean had 12 points and 14 rebounds. The Terrapins couldn’t overcome 3-for-23 shooting on 3-pointers.

“I felt like it was there for the taking for us,” Maryland coach Brenda Frese said. “We didn’t manage enough plays to take it.”

After briefly falling behind, the Tar Heels used a 13-4 run, sparked by six points from Nivar, early in the fourth quarter for a 63-56 lead.

“They gave us a good run, and we kind of just did a good job of absorbing that and not panicking, not trying to do too much, not getting away from the game plan,” Grant said.

Maryland pulled within three in the final two minutes, but freshman Nyla Brooks drained a 3-pointer from in front of the North Carolina bench.

“Nyla Brooks has been shooting those 3s all season,” Aarnisalo said. “She’s not afraid to take any shots.”

The Terrapins failed to convert as part of 30.6% shooting in the second half.

“We had a lot of uncharacteristic missed shots in this game,” Frese said.

North Carolina took a 42-33 halftime lead, shooting 56.7% in the half.

Nivar picked up her fourth foul with 7:06 left in the third quarter. Maryland was even at 50-50 by the final minute of the quarter.

North Carolina has reached the Sweet 16 in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2014 and 2015.

Board work

Maryland was relentless on the boards, tracking down 21 offensive rebounds. Eventually, Banghart was hoping some of those shots would just go in.

“I got to the point where I was praying Oluchi would make her free throws because I didn’t want to have to rebound it,” Banghart said.

The Terrapins scored 21 second-chance points.

Needing more assists

Maryland’s three assists were its fewest this season and lowest total in an NCAA Tournament game.

The 66 points marked the third-lowest total of the season for Maryland, which entered averaging 82.8.

Up next

The Tar Heels advanced to the Sweet 16 for the 20th time.

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North Carolina

March Madness 2026: How to watch the North Carolina vs. Maryland game in the second round of the women’s NCAA basketball tournament

Published

1 day ago

March 22, 2026

Press Room

March Madness 2026: How to watch the North Carolina vs. Maryland game in the second round of the women’s NCAA basketball tournament

March Madness continues today with the second round of the women’s NCAA tournament. Up next: No. 4 North Carolina vs. No. 5 Maryland. The game tips off at 12 p.m. ET today, airing on ESPN. For a complete breakdown of key dates and how to watch every March Madness game, we’ve got you covered. Here’s a look at how to watch the entire tournament from today’s second round to the Championship Final.

How to watch North Carolina vs. Maryland at the women’s March Madness tournament:

Date: Sunday, March 22, 2026

Time: 12 p.m. ET

TV channel: ESPN

Streaming: ESPN Unlimited, Fubo, DirecTV and more

North Carolina vs. Maryland game time:

The North Carolina vs. Maryland second-round basketball game is on Sunday, March 22. Tipoff is at 12 p.m. ET.

Where to watch the North Carolina vs. Maryland game:

The North Carolina vs. Maryland March Madness game will air on ESPN.

Where to stream March Madness games without cable:

Every game of the 2026 women’s March Madness Tournament will stream on ESPN Unlimited. You’ll also be able to access every game on live TV services like Sling, Fubo, and DirecTV.

ESPN’s streaming platform offers thousands of exclusive live events, original studio shows and acclaimed series that air across ESPN’s suite of seven linear channels, as well as exclusive content on ESPN+, ABC on ESPN, SEC+, ACCNX and more. The new tier costs $29.99/month or $299.99/year.

ESPN Select allows subscribers to access exclusive content only available on the app, and an extensive archive of on-demand content (including the entire 30 For 30 library, select ESPN Films, game replays and more). Whether you purchase a standalone plan, add-on or Disney bundle plan, the service provides access to thousands of sports events for $12.99/month or $129.99/year.

Sling TV’s Day Pass gives consumers the freedom to watch what they want, when they want, without committing to a monthly streaming subscription. Sign up for a single day ($4.99), a weekend ($9.99), or a full week ($14.99) and watch every channel available through Sling Orange, which includes ESPN and ESPN2, and over 30 more channels. No strings attached.

Want to catch a specific sporting event like the women’s March Madness tournament that’s spread across additional channels that Sling Orange doesn’t typically carry? You can customize your channel lineup with a Sports Extra add-on to get additional coverage of ESPNU and more for just a dollar more.

2026 NCAA women’s basketball tournament game schedule

All times Eastern.

Second round:

Sunday, March 22
No. 4 North Carolina vs. No. 5 Maryland: 12 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 7 NC State: 1 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 4 Minnesota vs. No. 5 Ole Miss: 2 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 2 LSU vs. No. 7 Texas Tech: 3 p.m. (ABC)
No. 3 Duke vs. No. 6 Baylor: 4 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 1 Texas vs. No. 8 Oregon: 6 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 5 Michigan State vs. No. 4 Oklahoma: 8 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 3 TCU vs. No. 6 Washington: 10 p.m. (ESPN)

2026 NCAA women’s basketball tournament schedule:

The schedule and locations for the women’s tournament:

Selection Sunday: 8 p.m. ET Sunday, March 15 on ESPN
Second round: March 22-23
Sweet 16: March 27-28 in Fort Worth, TX and Sacramento, CA
Elite Eight: March 29-30 in Fort Worth, TX and Sacramento, CA
Final Four: Friday, April 3, Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, AZ
NCAA championship game: Sunday, April 5, Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, AZ