Now that North Carolina’s voter registration deadline has passed, voters will take to the polls on Nov. 8 for the state’s midterm elections. Same-day registration during early voting will be available for those who missed the Oct. 14 deadline.
Nationally, 34 Senate seats and all 435 House of Representative seats are up for re-election, with North Carolina voters electing 14 representatives and one senator. Also on the local ballot are North Carolina State Senate and House positions, state court positions and numerous ballot measures.
Early voting: Oct. 20-Nov. 5
The early voting period will begin on Thursday, Oct. 20 and end at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 5. Early voting is convenient for people who are unable to vote on Election Day or at their assigned polling place.
Voters who are registered in Durham County will be able to cast their ballots at any early voting site across the county. There are eight early voting sites in Durham County.
Duke’s on-campus early voting site is located at the Karsh Alumni Center. The address is 2080 Duke University Road and students can access Karsh on the C1 bus route.
On weekdays, early voting will take place from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. On Saturdays, early voting is open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and on Sundays early voting is open from 2 to 6 p.m.
The county has a live early voting site locator that will show wait times when early voting begins.
Those who did not register by the Oct. 14 deadline may utilize same-day registration and vote at early voting sites.
In addition to completing an application, a voter must show an identifying document providing proof of residency, such as an NC driver’s license, a utility bill or a photo ID from a government agency.
College students need to bring their university ID paired with “any document originating with the educational institution and containing the student’s name and on-campus housing address or facility name,” according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
Voters can check the details of their registration using the state’s Registration Lookup Tool and find early voting sites in additional counties on the NC Board of Elections Website.
Election Day voting: Nov. 8
On Election Day, registered voters must vote at their assigned polling site. Voters can find their Election Day polling place by searching their address into the Polling Place Search.
Students registered at the 1 Duke University West Campus residential address will vote at W.I. Patterson Recreation Center. Students registered at the 1 Duke University East Campus residential address will vote at the George Watts Elementary School.
According to the North Carolina State Board of Elections, polling places will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m on Election Day. Voters in line at their assigned polling place by 7:30 p.m. are allowed to cast their vote.
Voters do not have to bring a photo ID in order to vote. If questions arise about a voter’s eligibility to vote, they should be allowed to cast a provisional ballot, according to the North Carolina Board of Elections.
Vote by mail
Registered North Carolina voters may also request and vote via a mail-in absentee ballot without providing special reasons or proof of special circumstances.
Mail-in ballots can be requested with official NC Absentee Ballot request forms found either online at the NC Absentee Ballot Portal or an application can be submitted on paper.
North Carolinians who wish to vote absentee must submit their ballot request forms by Nov. 1.
Ballots must be postmarked or returned in-person by Nov. 8 at 5:00 p.m.
For those planning to vote by mail in another state, Duke TurboVote makes the process easier by combining the online voter registration and ballot request process.
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Ethan Niang is a Trinity sophomore and senior reporter of The Chronicle's 118th volume.