GREENSBORO, N.C. — The 2020 Election starts sooner than you might think.
Absentee mail-in ballots go out Friday in North Carolina, making it the first state in the country to start sending out ballots this year.
State election officials talked about preparations in a press conference Thursday.
Those who applied for a mail-in ballot will find them in the mailbox in the coming weeks and those who plan to vote in-person will find new safety guidelines in place.
"One of the reasons we have three ways [to vote] is to make sure that every North Carolinian can vote," State Board of Elections Chair Damon Circosta said.
The state plans to send more than half a million already-requested ballots. More than 30,000 of those will go to Guilford County.
"This isn't the first time we've done this, it's just the first time we've done it at this volume. I can say with great confidence that these folks have been planning and carrying out the logistics that are required," State Board of Elections Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell said.
Bell said absentee ballots have been redesigned in the hopes of reducing voter confusion.
There will also be a way to track your ballot online after you mail it in.
"[You can] track that in the mail stream to see when they return it through the postal service to the County Board of Elections," Bell said.
At the polls, she said social distancing and cleaning will be in place to stop the spread of the coronavirus in early voting or on election day.
"We will offer masks and hand sanitizers to voters when they present themselves to vote in person," Bell said.
Masks will not be required to cast your ballot, just recommended.
In-person voters will go without getting an "I voted" sticker this year. Instead, everyone will be given a brand new pen to mark your ballot with and take home after.