How to Vote Absentee by Mail
Any registered voter can vote by mail.
Request your absentee ballot by 5PM, the Tuesday one week before Election Day.
Return your absentee ballot by 7:30 PM, Election Day
3 Easy Steps to Vote by Mail (Absentee)
STEP ONE: Submit an absentee ballot request form
Absentee Ballot Request Receipt Deadline: One Week before Election Day by 5:00 PM
NOTE: Your request form must be received by your county Board of Elections by one week before Election Day at 5 PM (submitted via the online portal, dropped off by hand, or arrived by mail). A postmark of this date will not qualify.
★ PRO-TIP Don’t wait for the deadline — submit your request form as soon as possible.
Submit Your Absentee Ballot Request Online Here
Go to Form
You can also download and print your absentee ballot request form here.
Make sure to complete and sign the form digitally or by hand. Include your phone number in case something you write is hard to read.
Return the form via the online portal or to your County Board of Elections office in person or by mail. Your Ballot Request Form must be received by 5 PM on the Tuesday before Election Day (a postmark will not count to make this deadline).
If you are unable to use the online portal or to download and print an absentee ballot request form, you can request your county board mail a blank form to you.
STEP TWO: Vote your absentee ballot
After you submit an absentee ballot request form, an absentee ballot will be mailed to you. Mark your absentee ballot in the presence of two witnesses (or one notary public). The witnesses should NOT violate your privacy (i.e., watch your voting choices) while you vote.
Photo ID Requirement: New rules require you to include a photocopy of a photo ID (NC drivers license or other acceptable ID) inside the "photo envelope" that will come with your ballot. If you do not have an acceptable form of ID, you can complete an ID Exception Form and submit it with your ballot.
Once your ballot is completed, do these three things before your return it:
- Seal the ballot and ID envelope in the return envelope provided.
- Complete and sign the Absentee Application and Certificate on the return envelope.
- Have two witnesses (or one notary public) complete and sign the return envelope in the space designated as Witness’s Certification.
Almost anyone over 18 years old can serve as a witness – including a spouse or other family member.
STEP THREE: Return your absentee ballot
Deadline to Submit Your Absentee Ballot: Election Day by 7:30 PM
★ PRO-TIP Don’t wait until the deadline to submit your ballot. Vote and return it as soon as you receive it. The State Board of Elections recommends allowing AT LEAST 7-10 days for your ballot to arrive by Election Day. If you are closer to the deadline, it is best to use one of the hand-delivery methods below rather than mailing your ballot or consider using FedEx or UPS to ensure timely delivery by Election Day.
You have three options to return your ballot in the provided return envelope:
- Deliver it in person to your county board of elections by 7:30 PM on Election Day,
- Deliver it to a One-Stop Early Voting site during Early Voting (but NOT your Election Day polling place), or
- Mail it to your county board of elections. Your absentee ballot must ARRIVE by Election Day at 7:30 PM to count. A postmark date will no longer count.
★ PRO-TIP Only the voter or the voter’s near relative or legal guardian may return your ballot— do not give it to someone else to return. If the voter is disabled, they can ask any person of their choice for help. Alternatively, they can deliver their absentee ballot via curbside voting during Early Voting (but NOT on Election Day).
Tracking Your Absentee Ballot
Know your vote counted.
Once your county board of elections receives your ballot, you can find that your vote counted in the “Your Absentee Ballot” section of the voter search database. “Absentee Status” will show “VALID RETURN,” the “Return Method” will be “MAIL” and your “Return Status” will be “ACCEPTED” or “ACCEPTED – CURED”.
Your ballot status will also show up in the “Voter History” section as soon as your county completes the post-election process of assigning voter history to your record. This may take a couple of weeks or longer.
Absentee Voting FAQs
If you have access to a computer, you can submit online requests for absentee ballots through the North Carolina State Board of Elections online portal.
Another digital option is that you can download and complete the form digitally with a digital signature and email it to your County Board of Elections. The signature must be unique to the voter and must be readable. Voters may use a pen, or their finger, stylus, or mouse for the signature if they have the capability. Voters may not use a service such as DocuSign that inserts a typed or cursive font signature that is not made by the voter.
Alternatively, voters can pick up blank copies at their County Board of Elections office or may call the North Carolina State Board of Elections or their County Board of Elections and request a blank absentee ballot request form be sent to them by mail, e-mail, or fax.
It is NOT currently possible to vote absentee online. Voters can submit online requests for absentee ballots through the North Carolina State Board of Elections online portal. Alternatively, you can download and complete the absentee request form digitally with a digital signature and email it to your County Board of Elections.
Your absentee ballot will be mailed to you, and the paper ballot must be returned in the accompanying envelope in-person or by mail to your County Board of Elections or dropped off in-person at an early voting site during the early voting period.
A blind or visually impaired voter may submit a ballot through an online portal.
You are not required to vote by mail (even if you request an absentee ballot). As long as you have not returned your absentee ballot, you can still vote in person during Early Voting or on Election Day. But you cannot vote in person after your absentee ballot has been returned.
You will not receive a confirmation mailing from your County Board of Elections if your application is accepted. You will only hear back if your application needs to be corrected or was rejected. You can check the status of your request form by contacting your County Board of Elections or online using Ballottrax.
The NC State Board of Elections offers a tool to track your ballot called Ballottrax. You can track your ballot from when your county board of elections sends it to you through when your completed ballot is received by election officials.
The State Board of Elections has not yet posted the Absentee Request Form in Spanish. Check back soon to see if the updated form has been posted.
The facility or facility staff member may provide BLANK absentee ballot request forms but may NOT assist the voter in completing the request form or return a voter’s request form.
A voter’s near relative or legal guardian may assist the voter to complete the absentee ballot request form and absentee ballot. A near relative is: your spouse, brother, sister, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, mother-in-law, father-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, stepparent, or stepchild. If a near relative or legal guardian is not available, any voter may receive assistance from another individual to complete the ballot, but only voters with a disability (including language difficulty) may receive assistance from another person to complete the request form. The assistant must sign and date the certificate in the proper place on the request form and absentee ballot envelope.
A candidate may not serve as a witness unless the candidate is the voter’s near relative.
Employees of a facility may not serve as a witness for voters in a facility (such as a nursing home). See the instructions included with the absentee ballot for a complete list of individuals prohibited from serving as witnesses for voters in a facility.
As counties process absentee ballots and find deficiencies, they contact voters to inform them that their ballot was not filled out correctly. It is important to include your phone number or email address on your absentee ballot for this reason. You can also track your absentee ballot online using BallotTrax.
North Carolina allows voters to “cure” or fix some issues with their absentee ballot so that they will still count. The Board of Elections will contact you to cure errors that involve signature issues or failing to correctly attach a copy of their ID or the ID exception form. You will not have the opportunity to cure issues related to the two required witness signatures (or notary public) or if your envelope was unsealed when it arrived at the Board of Elections. Voters with ballots with these types of issues will be notified that their absentee ballot did not count. If time allows, they can vote a new absentee ballot or vote in person instead.
Any North Carolina registered voter may request and receive a mail-in “absentee” ballot. No special circumstance is needed.
Uniformed service members and U.S. citizens living outside of the country may request absentee ballots under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). For more UOCAVA information, go to FVAP.GOV.
When thinking about who can “help” a voter with their absentee form, it’s important to distinguish “helping” (Explaining how to complete the form, sending voters a blank form, etc.) versus “assisting” (a legal definition that means physically completing the form on behalf of the voter — i.e., not simply distributing, explaining, setting up an online submission, etc.).
Absentee Ballot Request Form Completion & Helping
Anyone can show a voter how to use anyone’s cell phone to request a ballot, for example: (1) BY OPENING THE STATE BOARD’S PORTAL to electronically fill out, sign, and submit a request; or (2) by demonstrating how to take a cellphone photo of the voter’s completed paper request form and how to send by email to the appropriate county board.
- Unless qualified to assist a voter, a helper must not fill out the form, in part or whole, or hit send.
- The helper may photograph the request form, upload the photo to an email, type in the election board’s email address, and set up the submission or open the State Board’s portal, BUT the voter must hit Send or Submit.
- It is important to include a phone number on the form in case something is blurry or hard to read.
- Anyone can mass distribute BLANK request forms through mailings, hand distribution, emails/tweets/etc. with links to the form or with an attachment. Forms distributed in mass cannot be partially filled out, for example, with the voter’s name and address.
- Anyone can provide mass instructions for completing and submitting an absentee ballot request during a meeting, webinar, Zoom, website video, etc.
Who is qualified to assist a voter by mail?
A voter’s near relative or legal guardian may assist the voter to complete the absentee ballot request form and absentee ballot. A near relative is: your spouse, brother, sister, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, mother-in-law, father-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, stepparent, or stepchild. If a near relative or legal guardian is not available, any voter may receive assistance from another individual to complete the ballot, but only voters with a disability (including language difficulty) may receive assistance from another person to complete the request form. The assistant must sign and date the certificate in the proper place on the request form and absentee ballot envelope.
A person who assists a voter with completing their ballot may also serve as a witness. Voters should ensure that anyone assisting and witnessing a ballot is eligible to do so. This means the witness/assistant is over 18 years old and is not a candidate for office (unless the candidate is the voter’s near relative).
There are additional restrictions on who may assist and serve as a witness for voters who are patients in a facility that provides residential or in-patient health care (such as an assisted living facility or hospital). For these voters:
- If a near relative or legal guardian is not available, a voter in a facility may also request assistance from a Multipartisan Assistance Team (MAT). MATs can help voters complete their absentee ballots, and can also serve as a witness. Call your county board of elections to request MAT assistance. Look up your county BOE here.
- If neither a voter’s near relative nor verifiable legal guardian is available, and a MAT is not available within seven calendar days of a telephonic request for assistance, the voter may obtain assistance from anyone who is not (1) an owner, manager, director, or employee of the Facility; (2) an elected official; (3) a candidate for office; or (4) an officeholder in a political party or a campaign manager or treasurer for a candidate or political party. The voter may also not have anyone in categories (1) – (4) witness their absentee ballot.
Important: Only you (the voter), your legal guardian, or your near relative may return your absentee ballot, for example, to a county BOE, or Early Voting location. However, if you require assistance due to a disability in mailing your envelope containing your executed absentee ballot, you may direct that the sealed envelope be taken directly to the closest U.S. mail depository or mailbox by a person selected by the voter.
Vote by Mail with or Without ID
Due to an April 2023 ruling by the NC Supreme Court, you must now include a photocopy of an acceptable ID inside the “photo envelope” that will come with your ballot. However, if you do not have an acceptable form of ID, you can complete an ID Exception Form and submit it with your ballot (see acceptable ID exceptions here). Acceptable exceptions for mail-in voters include that the voter was unable to attach a copy of their photo ID.
A voter who, due to a disability, needs assistance placing their ballot in the closest mailbox may receive assistance by anyone not disqualified from assisting the voter.