Make Sure Your Vote Counts

Think you might need to use an absentee ballot for the Primary Election on May 17?

Here’s what you need to know so you can make sure your vote counts!

Request an Absentee Ballot

Absentee ballots for the 2022 Primary Election will be mailed out beginning March 28. The final deadline to submit an Absentee Ballot Request Form is May 10 at 5 p.m. Any North Carolina registered voter may request, receive, and vote using a mail-in absentee ballot. No special circumstance or reason is needed.

Registered voters in North Carolina must use an official NC Absentee Ballot Request Form to request their absentee ballot. There are two ways to access and submit the form:

Online – Request an Absentee Ballot at the NC Absentee Ballot portal, votebymail.ncsbe.gov.

On paper – Print either the English-language or the Spanish-language NC Absentee Ballot Request Form for 2022 (at press time, the Spanish-language Absentee Ballot Request Form is not available online).

For active-duty military, their family members, and US citizens living abroad, go online to fvap.gov. If you have questions about that process, call (828) 250-4200 or visit buncombecounty.org/vote.

No Printer? You may complete an absentee ballot request form at the Election Services office at 59 Woodfin Place, Asheville, 28801, or call (828) 250-4200 and one will be mailed to you.

Return your filled-out NC Ballot Request Form

You may return the request in one of the following ways:

Mail it to: PO Box 7468, Asheville, NC 28802

Hand-deliver it to: 59 Woodfin Place, Asheville, NC 28801

Note: The Absentee Ballot Request Form may not be emailed or faxed. Request forms that are hand delivered to the office must be returned only by the voter or the voter’s near relative.

How to Return an Absentee Ballot

If you request and receive an absentee ballot, fill it out and return it no later than Election Day, Tuesday, May 17, 2022, at 5 p.m. (Voters are encouraged to return the ballot as early as possible.) Your completed ballot—YOUR VOTE—should be returned in one of the following ways:

By mail: to PO Box 7468 Asheville, NC 28802. Ballots must be postmarked on or before Tuesday, May 17, 2022, and received by Friday, May 20, 2022.

By hand at an Early Voting site: Completed, sealed Absentee Ballots may be returned to an early voting site during the early voting period; Absentee Ballots returned at an early voting site must be delivered to the election official at the check-in station. However, you may not turn in your Absentee Ballot at any polling location on the day of the Primary Election, May 17, 2022.

In person: Absentee ballots may be returned in person to the Board of Elections at 59 Woodfin Place between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Absentee ballots may be returned only by the voter or the voter’s near relative.

For more information about absentee voting, visit the North Carolina Board of Elections website, www.ncsbe.gov/Voting-Options/Absentee-Voting. Or call (828) 250-4200. You can also email your questions to [email protected].