To register to vote, you must be:

• A U.S. citizen; and
• At least 18 years old by the day of General Election; and
• A resident of the county for at least 30 days prior to the election in which you want to vote.
  
  

If you have been convicted of a felony, you must have completed all parts of your sentence, including probation and parole, before you are eligible to register.

Seventeen year olds who will be 18 on or by the day of the General Election can register to vote at any time before the General Election -- they do not have to wait until they turn 18.

Students living away from home and people in jail on misdemeanor charges are all eligible to register to vote. For more details, please see our Who Can Vote section.

There are several different ways you can register to vote or change your voter registration:

• Visit your local board of elections during regular business hours to register.
• Download a registration form and mail it to your local board of elections – just remember that it must be postmarked at least 25 days before the election you want to vote in.
• Obtain a voter registration form at any public library – local policies will vary on whether they will turn the form in for you or if you need to turn it in or mail it to your local board of elections yourself.
• If you are a student, be aware that many high schools and colleges also have registration forms.
• Obtain a voter registration form at your local Department of Social Services or public health office.
• Register to vote at any Division of Motor Vehicles office when you apply for or renew your driver’s license.
• Register during a voter registration drive. The person taking your completed form must submit it at least 25 days before the next election. They cannot pre-mark the form with a party affiliation or destroy the form if they don’t like your choice of a party affiliation.
• Use Same Day Registration & Voting to register and vote on the same day at designated sites during the Early Voting period. You may not use this option on Election Day! Same Day Registration is a very convenient option for many people since it only requires one trip to an Early Voting site to both register and vote.

Before you turn in your form:

Before turning in your registration form, review it carefully. Be sure you have signed it, answered all the questions, and checked all the appropriate boxes. If you do not write in your NC driver’s license number or the last 4 digits of your Social Security number, be sure to provide the documents requested on the form OR be prepared to show one of those documents when you first vote in person.

If you have trouble understanding the form, call the State Board of Elections at 1-866-522-4723 or your local board of elections, or call us at 1-888-OUR-VOTE.

The registration form asks you for your full name, current address, mailing address, birth date, and birthplace. You must also provide your North Carolina driver’s license number if you have one. If not, provide the last four digits of your Social Security number on the registration form. If you do not have either of these, you will be asked to send or show another form of identification, either with the form or when you first vote. Acceptable forms of ID must have your name and current residential address; they include:

• A utility bill from an electric, water, gas, telephone or cell phone, or cable company.
• A bank statement or bank-card statement.
• A paycheck or pay stub.
• Any license, registration, permit, invoice, check, letter or other document from a local, state or federal government agency.
• A student ID with a school document showing the student’s current address.

If you have a current NC driver’s license, you will not need any of these other documents.

NOTE: Intentionally lying on a voter registration form is a felony – do not give incorrect information.

In 2007, North Carolina adopted a law that allows people to register and vote on the same day at Early Voting sites during Early Voting periods (19 to 3 days before the day of the election, whether it is the Primary or General Election). You can not use Same Day Registration on Election Day.

To use Same Day Registration & Voting:

• Go to an Early Voting Site in your county. To find the location and hours of these sites, you will need to contact your local board of elections. Just keep in mind most counties do not know where their Early Voting locations will be until about a month before the Primary or General Election.
• Show the election official your proof of residence (see list below).
• Complete a voter registration form.
• Cast your ballot.  

If you want to register at an Early Voting site, you must show election officials an acceptable form of identification. Here are your choices:

• NC Driver’s License.
• Utility bill, including a bill from an electric, water, gas, telephone or cable company.
• Bank statement or bank-card statement.
• Paycheck or stub.
• Student ID and a document from the school with the student’s address.
• Any local, state, or federal government document showing your residential address such as a car registration, fishing license, military ID, Social Security letter, tax bill, building permit, etc.
  
  

  If your ID or address turns out to be false, then your ballot is pulled.

  
  Note: Using a fake ID or intentionally providing false information on your registration form is a felony. 

  
  Click here to download a flyer on Same Day Registration & Voting in North Carolina. This flyer provides more information and can be printed and distributed to encourage others to take advantage of this option.

After about two or three weeks, you should receive a voter registration card in the mail with the name and location of your voting precinct and polling place. You never need to show this card when you vote; it just helps you remember where your polling place is. If you have not received your card within three weeks of registering, you should call your local board of elections and make sure it is being processed. You can also search on-line to see if you are registered yet. If you have trouble with your search, click here and follow the directions.

If you still do not have your card by Election Day, you should report to your polling place (call your local board of elections to find out where this is) and request a Provisional Ballot. This type of ballot lets you vote, but the ballot is not counted until officials have been able to verify your eligibility to vote.

If this sounds too complicated, remember you can use Same Day Registration & Voting during the Early Voting period!

All registrations go through a verification process that includes confirmation of your driver’s license or Social Security number, a check for duplicate names in the statewide registration file, and mail verification of your address when your voter card is sent.

Use the state Board of Elections voter search engine to see if you are on North Carolina’s voter rolls. When you use the “Voter Lookup” service, remember to type your name as it appeared on the registration form. If you have difficulty finding a match for your name, type in only the first letter or two of your first name and then the asterisk (*) to substitute for the rest of your first name. This method should retrieve several names for you to select from.

Keep in mind that it can take several days for your information to be added to the registration rolls, depending on how you registered. If you do not find your name on the rolls after two weeks, or if incorrect information is listed, please contact your local board of elections.

In order to avoid problems when you go to vote, you should fill out a new voter registration form if:

• You have changed your address.
• Your have changed your name.
• You have changed party affiliation.

If any of these situations apply to you, you can choose to either use the space provided on your voter registration card to make any needed changes (mailing it back to your local board of elections), or you can fill out a new voter registration form. In addition, the State Board offers instructions for changing voter information that you may want to review.

If you are changing your address to a new county, be sure to provide your previous address – this is needed to cancel your registration in your prior county of residence. 

If you are changing your name or party affiliation, or have moved to a new address within the same county, be sure to check the box indicating that your form is not a new registration but a “Change of Information.”

If you moved to a new county, you need to register to vote again in the current county where you reside. You can visit your new local board of elections at any time during the year to do this or take advantage of Same Day Registration & Voting during the Early Voting period. You can also download a registration form and mail it in at any time during the year – you can find a list of county board of elections addresses here. Just be sure to do it enough in advance to meet the registration deadline for any election you want to vote in. Otherwise, you will need to vote using a Provisional Ballot.

If you have moved to an address outside your old county, be sure to fill out Section B on your new registration form – this is the section that asks for your prior address – so that your registration can be canceled where you used to live. If you have moved to a new address within the same county, just fill out Section C and check the box at the top of that section that says “Change of Information.”

For more information on changing your address information, please visit the state Board of Election voter updates section.

If you moved within the same county and forgot to change your registration in time, you can vote at an Early Voting site during Early Voting – or at your old polling place on Election Day by asking for a "Provisional Ballot." It helps to change your registration as soon as possible. Your local Board of Election depends on an accurate count of eligible voters in every precinct in order to plan for staffing requirements – clean voters rolls can mean shorter lines at the polls.

If you are a felon, you cannot register or vote until you have completed the terms of your sentence, including probation and parole, then registered with your local board of elections. However, once you have met these requirements, you do regain your right to vote -- and we hope you will exercise this right! See our Who Can Vote section for details. 

If you are in jail awaiting trial or if you are serving a sentence on misdemeanor charges, you have the right to register and to vote. You should follow the same instructions on registering to vote as anyone else, keeping these special address considerations in mind since you will have to select a mail-in registration option:

• It is important that you put down an address where your mail will be accepted and received. If you register at an address and your voter card is returned to the Board of Elections as undeliverable, you may not be able to vote.
• If you have a home address where you still receive mail, even if it is in a different county, use that as your address when you fill out the registration form. You will need to mail your registration form to the board of elections in that county; this is the same Board where you will write to request an Absentee Ballot when the time comes to vote.
• As an alternative, you can use the jail’s address where you receive mail and mail your completed registration form to the board of elections in the same county as the jail; this is the same Board where you will write to request an Absentee Ballot when the time comes to vote.

Your voter card will be mailed to the address that you put down as your mailing address. If you have not received a voting card within three weeks, you can search your registration status on-line or contact the Board of Elections. You will vote using an Absentee Ballot in the county you mailed your registration form to.