GREENSBORO, N.C. — As of 5 pm on Tuesday, October 29, 2024, it's too late to request an absentee ballot. But you can still vote in-person during Early Voting which is going on right now through Saturday, November 2, 2024.
Election day is Tuesday, November 5, 2024. Polls are open from 6:30 am to 7:30 pm. If you have an absentee ballot, you have to have that ballot in by November 5 as well, not postmarked by the date. There is no grace period this year in North Carolina. Even the U.S. Postmaster General is warning you about it.
"We encourage the voting public to mail early if they chose to vote by mail and to put their return ballot back in the mail at least 7 days before it must be back to their election official under the laws of the state where they are voting," said Louis DeJoy, U.S. Postmaster General.
If you don't have your ballot in the mail already, you're better off returning it in person.
"It can also be hand-delivered to an early voting site, not at an election day precinct, but an early voting site. Or you can take it to our board of elections office," said Charlie Collicutt, Guilford County Board of Elections Director.
If you're still going the mail-in route with your absentee ballot, the postage will cost you $1.77. What happens if you put your ballot in the mail and didn't realize it wasn't free to mail?
The Postal Service will deliver it to the board of elections anyway, but the local election board may end up footing the bill for the missing stamps.