GREENSBORO, N.C. — Get ready "2 Be Counted" and cast your vote in the pivotal 2024 election cycle.
You might say, "Wait, the North Carolina primary isn't until Super Tuesday on March 5!" That’s true, but absentee voting is already open. With new deadlines and rules this year, you want to get a jump on planning your vote.
One of the biggest changes in 2024, beginning with the primary, is the need to show a photo ID. There are two new papers you'll see in your absentee ballot packet: one shows examples of common photo IDs. The other is a photo ID exception form. Remember, examples of acceptable forms are a North Carolina driver's license or one from another state, DC or US territory. You can also use a passport, a free North Carolina photo ID card, an approved college or university student ID, or an approved state and local government or charter school employee ID.
If you don't have one or can’t make a copy, you'll fill out the voter ID exception form. Three examples of valid excuses are unexpected illness, loss of birth certificate to obtain an ID, or a lack of transportation that prevents you from getting an ID or making a copy.
After you copy your ID or fill out the exception, put it in the clear sleeve on the outside of the ballot container envelope. Then put that in the outer envelope. This isn't difficult, but it certainly takes time. And, this year, time is not on absentee voters' side.
This year the deadline to return the ballot is election day. There is no longer a grace period. You have to get your ballot into the county board of elections office -- not still in transit in the mail -- by 7:30 p.m. So, the State Board of Elections Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell says you need to mail your ballot back at least a week before the election.
“The Postal Service generally tells us to allow about seven days for it to go from a voter's home to our county board of elections,” she said. “That's the general rule I would recommend, but the sooner the better if that's how someone wants to vote.”
If you're worried about your ballot making it in time, the board of elections has a tool called BallotTrax. It lets you know if the county received your ballot. If it's not there by election day, don't panic. You still have options.
“Just having requested an absentee ballot does not mean someone has voted. So until we have that ballot back in hand at county elections, we do not mark that person as having voted, so they still have the option to go vote in person during early voting or on election day,” said Brinson Bell.
What is it going to cost for postage for that ballot? You need $1.63 worth. That's not just one forever stamp, but three stamps. If you don't put the right amount, the Postal Service will ask the county to cover the rest. A postal spokesperson says, "If a return ballot is nevertheless entered into the mainstream with insufficient or unpaid postage, it is the Postal Service's policy not to delay the delivery of completed absentee balloting materials, including mail-in ballots."
If a voter is concerned about mailing the ballot, the voter or a close relative can always return it in person to an early voting location or the county board of elections office. But, a voter cannot take an absentee ballot to his or her assigned precinct on election day.