Primary Election Coming on March 5, 2024

We urge every reader to make use of the opportunity—and the citizen’s duty—to vote!

For the upcoming 2024 primary elections in NC, the state Board of Elections has a very useful and informative website (www.ncsbe.gov/registering), with sections on how to register, the different ways you can choose to vote (absentee, early in person, by mail, in person on election day, etc.); and what you will need to be a voter whose vote will count.

Here’s an Overview

Make sure you’re registered to vote. For all the following, you can call the Buncombe County Board of Elections (BOE) at (828) 250-4200; or you can go to www.buncombecounty.org/governing/depts/election/Default.aspx, where you can:

• Register to vote;
• Choose whether to register with one of the five recognized NC political parties* or as an unaffiliated voter**

*The Democratic Party, the Green Party, the Libertarian Party, the No Labels Party, and the Republican Party

**In a partisan primary, voters affiliated with a political party may vote only on their party’s ballot and may not vote in another party’s primary. (For example, a registered Republican may only vote in the Republican Party primary.) Unaffiliated voters may choose any party’s ballot—but only one—or a nonpartisan ballot (if available) in a primary election.

• Update your registration (if you’ve moved, or changed your name, etc.);
• Check your registration to make sure you have not been removed from the voting rolls

Here are the important dates to mark in your calendar!

• Jan. 19: County boards of elections begin mailing absentee ballots to eligible voters who submitted an absentee ballot request form.
• Feb. 9: Voter registration deadline (5 p.m.).
• Feb. 15: In-person early voting begins.
• Feb. 27: Absentee ballot request deadline (5 p.m., one week prior to Election Day)
• March 2: In-person early voting ENDS (3 p.m.).
• March 5: Primary Election Day.
• March 5: Absentee ballot return deadline (7:30 p.m.).

You will need a Photo ID

As of this year NC voters must have a Photo ID to vote and have their vote counted.

If you plan to vote absentee by mail, your ballot request must include your North Carolina driver license number or NCDMV issued identification card number; or the last four digits of your Social Security number. The request form must be signed by either the voter or the voter’s near relative, or legal guardian. A typed signature is not allowed.

It’s especially important to note that if you use a mail-in absentee ballot, you must have your signature witnessed by two people, or have it notarized. “Mark your ballot in the presence of a notary public or two witnesses. Your notary public or two witnesses should observe that you mark the ballot, not how you vote.”

In addition, you must include a photocopy of your ID. According to the state Board of Elections website, “the voter places the photocopy of and ID or ID Exception Form in a sleeve [pocket] on the outside of the ballot container envelope, which is then placed in an outer return envelope to protect the privacy of the voter.” (This requirement is designed to ensure that when your mail-in ballot is opened, your Voter ID will be checked for validity, but then separated from your actual ballot, so nobody will be able to track how you vote.)

An acceptable Photo ID can be a:

• NC driver’s license
• State ID (for non-drivers) available at no cost from the NC DMV
• Out-of-state driver’s license ONLY for voters who register in NC within 90 days of the election
• US Passport
• NC voter photo ID issued by your county Board of Elections
• College or university student ID (must be from a college approved by the NC Board of Elections
• ID from a state or local government agency, or a charter school, if approved by the NC BoE
• Military or veterans ID issued by the US government
• Tribal enrollment card (from any tribe recognized by the US or NC government)
• ID issued by any agency of the US or NC government for a public assistance program

Note that you can get a free Voter ID card from your local county Board of Elections. If you don’t show an approved ID when you go to vote, you can vote provisionally by filling out an ID Exception Form—but then you MUST visit the county BoE with an approved voter ID no later than March 14 (the day before the county canvass).

For more information and details, visit www.ncsbe.gov/voting/voter-id.

Vote! Vote! Vote!

The most important thing to remember is this: the future of our democracy is on the line, and democracy depends on making sure that all Americans’ voices are heard. The way to have YOUR voice heard is through YOUR VOTE.