Vote By Mail

Absentee-By-Mail Voting in 2021

Any North Carolina registered voter may request, receive and vote a mail-in absentee ballot. No special circumstance or reason is needed to vote by mail in North Carolina. For municipal elections 2021, there are two ways to request an absentee ballot:

1. Online at the Absentee Ballot Request Portal (coming soon).
2. On paper with the English N.C. Absentee Ballot Request Form for 2021 (fillable PDF) or Spanish N.C. Absentee Ballot Request Form for 2021 (PDF coming soon).

Not all municipalities offer absentee-by-mail voting. Visit the 2021 Municipal Voter Tool to determine whether absentee voting options are available in your municipality. For an overview of the 2021 municipal elections, visit Upcoming Election. 

Military and Overseas Voting

Military or overseas voters have special rights under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). See our Military and Overseas Voting page for more information on military and overseas citizens’ absentee voting.

Accessible Absentee Voting

If you are a blind or visually impaired voter in North Carolina, you can request, mark, and return an accessible absentee ballot online through a system that is compatible with screen readers and allows for a digital or typed signature. Learn more at Accessible Absentee Voting.

If you live at a facility such as a hospital, clinic, or nursing home, find out how to receive assistance with mail-in voting and other services provided by a multipartisan assistance team (MAT) at Assistance for Voters in Care Facilities.

For answers to more absentee-by-mail voting questions, visit FAQ: Voting by Mail in North Carolina in 2021.

Detailed Instructions to Vote By Mail (2020)

Voting by mail in North Carolina takes three simple steps — requesting, completing, and returning a ballot. Find more information on Detailed Instructions to Vote by Mail in 2020.

Note: These instructions apply to voting by mail in the 2020 general election. We will post the updated instructions for the 2021 municipal elections soon.