Overview of 2024 Elections
In 2024, North Carolina will hold its primary election on March 5, 2024, and general election on Nov. 5, 2024. Keep reading to learn more, or click the links below to jump to a subject on this page.
2024 Offices up for Election
Offices up for election in 2024 include the following:
- U.S. President
- U.S. House of Representatives
- Governor
- Lieutenant Governor
- Secretary of State
- State Auditor
- State Treasurer
- Superintendent of Public Instruction
- Attorney General
- Agriculture Commissioner
- Labor Commissioner
- Insurance Commissioner
- State Senator
- State Representative
- N.C. Supreme Court Justice
- N.C. Court of Appeals Judge
- Superior Court Judge
- District Court Judge
- District Attorney
- County Commissioner
- Clerk of Superior Court
- Register of Deeds
In 2024, many counties have elections for boards of commissioners and boards of education. A number of municipalities also have elections for mayor and seats on the municipal governing board.
Local Voter Tool
We will update our voter tool that tracks municipal election contests in your county for 2024. Please revisit this page later.
2024 Primary Election
The 2024 primary election, including the presidential preference primary, is Tuesday, March 5, 2024. During this election, voters choose which candidates should be the party nominees to appear on the general election ballot. The 2024 general election is Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024.
Dates and Deadlines
Here are voter dates and deadlines for the 2024 primary election in North Carolina:
- Jan. 19, 2024: County boards of elections begin mailing absentee ballots to eligible voters who submitted an absentee ballot request form.
- Feb. 9, 2024: Voter registration deadline (5 p.m.).*
- Feb. 15, 2024: In-person early voting begins.
- Feb. 27, 2024: Absentee ballot request deadline (5 p.m.).*
- March 2, 2024: In-person early voting ends (3 p.m.).
- March 5, 2024: Primary Election Day.
- March 5, 2024: Absentee ballot return deadline (7:30 p.m.).*
Find important dates for the 2024 general election on our web calendar: Voter Dates and Deadlines.
*Voter registration and absentee voting deadlines are different for military and overseas citizen voters.
Who Can Vote in the Primary?
Voters affiliated with any political party may vote the ballot of candidates for their party only. For example, a registered Republican may vote the Republican primary ballot only. Some recognized political parties in North Carolina may not have primary ballots.
Unaffiliated voters may choose to vote any one political party’s ballot or a nonpartisan ballot (if available). A voter cannot vote in more than one party’s primary.
How to Determine Winners
Candidates who win in each contest on their party’s ballot will become their party’s nominees. The nominee will appear on the ballot in the general election contest. To become the party’s nominee, the candidate must win by at least 30% of the vote plus one. For multi-seat primary contests (for example, at-large county commissioners), primary candidates win if they earn 30% of the total number of votes cast in the contest, divided by the number of nominations to be filled.
Second Primary?
If no candidate reaches the vote percentage necessary to become the nominee in a contest on the ballot, a runner-up can request a second primary to be held on May 14, 2024. Voters can revisit this page after the primary to see if any contests will have second primaries.
Important Tips for Voters
- Need to register or update your registration? See How to Register or Updating Registration.
- Check your registration: Voters can check to make sure their registration information is accurate and up to date using the Voter Search tool. There, you can also find your polling place, absentee ballot information, and more.
- Find your sample ballot: All eligible, registered voters will find their sample ballot(s) in the “Your Sample Ballot” section of their Voter Search profile when they become available. For even-year elections, sample ballots are typically available 50 days before Election Day.
- Don’t forget your photo ID: North Carolina voters will be asked to show photo ID when they check in to vote. Learn more: Voter ID.
- Three ways to vote: Follow the links below to learn about the voting methods available to voters.