You may not request an absentee ballot with an expired form.
Overview
Find details on this page about absentee-by-mail voting options for civilian, military and overseas, or blind and visually impaired voters. Visit the vote-by-mail FAQ and detailed instructions to vote by mail pages in this section to learn more.
Absentee-By-Mail Voting in the November 8 Elections
Any North Carolina registered voter may request, receive, and vote a mail-in absentee ballot. No special circumstance or reason is needed. Registered voters in North Carolina must request an absentee ballot with an official N.C. Absentee Ballot Request Form. There are two ways to access and submit the form:
- Online with “Option 1 – Request an Absentee Ballot” at the N.C. Absentee Ballot Portal.
- On paper with the English N.C. Absentee Ballot Request Form for 2022 (fillable PDF) or the Spanish N.C. Absentee Ballot Request Form for 2022 (fillable PDF).
Track your absentee-by-mail ballot through the mail: Once you have requested your absentee ballot, you can track its status from printed to accepted by signing up online for status notifications through BallotTrax. Ballottrax will be available for the November 8, 2022 Election starting September 1, 2022.
Dates and Deadlines
The civilian voter registration deadline is 25 days before Election Day.* Find out how to register or how to update your registration.
| Absentee-By-Mail Date or Deadline |
|---|
| September 9, 2022: The date by which the boards of elections must make available absentee ballots for municipal and general contests. |
| October 14, 2022: Civilian voter registration deadline. After this point, only same-day registration during one-stop early voting is available. |
| November 1, 2022: Deadline for civilians to submit an absentee ballot request form. |
| November 8, 2022: Election Day and civilian absentee ballot return deadline. |
For an overview of the 2022 general election, visit Upcoming Election.
Military and Overseas Voting
The federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) allows certain voters an expedited means to register and vote by mail-in ballot. Find more information at Military and Overseas 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 that 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 details about receiving assistance with mail-in voting and other services provided by a multipartisan assistance team (MAT) at Assistance for Voters in Care Facilities.
Detailed Instructions to Vote By Mail
Voting by mail in North Carolina takes three simple steps — requesting, completing, and returning a ballot. Find more information at Detailed Instructions to Vote By Mail.
FAQ: Voting By Mail
You can request an absentee ballot for the 2022 general elections now until the deadline: Your county board of elections must receive your request form by 5 p.m. on November 1, 2022, one week before Election Day.
Please include enough time for your request to be received by the deadline if you submit the request form by mail. The State Board encourages voters to request their absentee ballot as early as possible to ensure enough time to complete and return the ballot. Requests received after the deadline will not be processed.
One notary public or two witnesses must be in your presence when you mark your absentee ballot. They should only observe you marking your ballot, not how you vote.
Civilian absentee voters must return the container-return envelope with the voted ballot enclosed to their county board of elections no later than 5 p.m. on Election Day, November 8, 2022.
Absentee ballots received after 5 p.m. on Election Day will be counted only if they are postmarked on or before Election Day and received by mail no later than 5 p.m. November 14. Ballots without a postmark must be received by Election Day.
For answers to more absentee-by-mail voting questions, visit FAQ: Voting by Mail.