Absentee voting is available and no excuse is required. The last day to request an absentee ballot is 7 days before the election. Voted ballots must be received by Election Day in order to be counted.

No excuses are needed to request a mail-in absentee ballot. For non-military voters, you must request an absentee ballot for each election you want to vote absentee. The below information is for non-military voters, for more information on military or overseas voting procedures, please see our Overseas and Military Voters section.

To receive a mail-in ballot you must complete the State Absentee Ballot Request form. Or, you can now request your absentee ballot online!

You, or a near relative (spouse, brother, sister, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, mother-in-law, father-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, stepparent, or stepchild), a legal guardian or a member of a multipartisan assistance team (MAT) may submit the ballot request.

A signed copy of this form must be received by the county board of elections no later than 5pm on the last Tuesday before the election.

Forms delivered by any other person will not be processed.

Completed absentee ballot request forms may also be delivered by mail Find your county board of elections contact information here. The request form must be received by the Tuesday before the election, and not postmarked by that date.

When completing the State Absentee Ballot Request Form you must provide:

Your name and address

Your name and address of your near relative or legal guardian if that person is making the request

The address of the voter where the absentee ballots should be mailed (if different from the residence of the voter)

One of these types of ID numbers: North Carolina driver's license, North Carolina special ID care for nonoperators or the last four digits of the voters social security number.

Voters birthdate

Signature of the voter or the voters near relative or legal guardian

Clear information of the date of the election the absentee ballot is being requested for

If you are requesting a ballot for a partisan primary, and you are registered as unaffiliated, you must indicate the political party in whose primary you want to participate.

Once you receive your ballot, you may vote the ballot in the presence of two witnesses (or one witness if the witness is a notary-public). Note: For the November 2020 general election only, only one witness is required for an absentee ballot. Once voted, you must seal the ballot in the return envelope and complete the information on the back of the return envelope. The witnesses must complete and sign the envelope in the space assigned to them. If someone assists the voter, they must sign and date the certificate as well.

The voted ballot must be returned no later than 5pm on the night of the election. You may mail or hand deliver the envelope to the board of elections' office. If the ballot is received after 5pm it will only be counted if they are received by mail and have a postmark that is dated on or before the day of the election and they are received by 5pm three days following the election.

Overseas citizens and U.S. military personnel can find information on how to register to vote and request an absentee ballot at the Overseas Vote Foundation.