North Carolina

Absentee-By-Mail Voting in North Carolina

On Friday, September 4 the State Board of Elections met and approved changes to the rules for mail-in voting. The following guidance has been provided by RightCount and the State Board of Elections to provide voters with the most up-to-date and accurate information on voting by mail.

Any North Carolina registered voter may request, receive, and vote a mail-in absentee ballot for the 2026 elections. Pay attention to the latest guidance and give yourself plenty of time to get your vote in!

Registered voters in North Carolina must request an absentee ballot with an official NC Absentee Ballot Request Form. There are two ways to access and submit the form:

1. Online: Option 1 at the NC Absentee Ballot Portal.
2. On paper: 2026 NC Absentee Ballot Request Form (fillable PDF).

After completing, submit the form to your county board of elections or in person or by mail via the U.S. Postal Service, DHL, FedEx, or UPS.

The deadline to request an absentee ballot is two weeks before Election Day (Oct. 20); the deadline differs for military and overseas citizen voters.

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 30 days prior to the election (Oct. 4).

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 on the North Carolina State Elections Board website under Military and Overseas Voting.

12 Reasons Absentee Voting is Secure

Across North Carolina, election officials work diligently to ensure the security of every ballot cast in North Carolina. Many processes are in place to ensure absentee voting is secure and conducted according to state law.

Here are 12 reasons why absentee-by-mail voting is safe and secure in North Carolina:

1. Election officials send ballots only to registered voters who request them using official paper request forms or the secure North Carolina Absentee Ballot Portal. It is illegal for an election official to knowingly send an absentee ballot to someone who hasn't requested one.
2. The voter or their near relative or legal guardian must fill out and sign the request form. To verify the identity of a voter requesting a ballot, the form requires private information from the voter: the voter's date of birth and either their driver's license number or last four digits of their Social Security number. Election officials validate that information before issuing a ballot.
3. Fraudulently or falsely completing the request form is a felony.
4. Voters must vote their ballot in the presence of two witnesses or a notary public. Witnesses must sign a certification on the absentee ballot envelope, verifying that the voter marked the ballot in their presence and is the person submitting the ballot.
5. Voters who vote by mail must include a photocopy of an acceptable photo ID when returning their ballot, or they may complete a Photo ID Exception Form.
6. Typically, only the voter or their near relative or legal guardian may return the ballot by mail, to the county board of elections, or an early voting site. Another person of a voter's choice may assist if the voter cannot return their ballot themselves due to disability. County boards of elections keep a detailed log of who drops off absentee ballots. There are no ballot drop boxes in North Carolina.
7. When a ballot is returned, the bipartisan county board of elections reviews the absentee ballot envelope to ensure compliance with the legal requirements.
8. Once the ballot is accepted, that voter is marked in the system as having voted in that election. If that voter tries to vote in person, poll workers will not allow that person to vote another regular ballot.
9. Data on who has requested absentee ballots is confidential until Election Day, or until the ballot is returned by the voter. This reduces the ability of third parties to attempt to unlawfully interfere with a voter's ballot, as they will not know who has requested a ballot or when any person who has requested a ballot will receive it.
10. Committing fraud, or aiding and abetting fraud, in connection with absentee voting is a felony. The State Board investigates credible allegations of election fraud and refers cases to prosecutors when warranted by findings.
11. Many people are watching North Carolina's absentee voting process closely, including candidates, political parties, county boards of elections, political and data scientists, advocacy groups, and the media. If anomalies or questionable activities arise, they will be reported to election officials.
12. The State Board conducts post-election audits which can catch inconsistencies to be investigated by the agency.

Related Content: North Carolina State Board of Elections Infosheet: How We Secure Absentee Voting (PDF).

2026 North Carolina Election Important Dates

• Sept. 4: County boards of elections begin mailing absentee ballots to eligible voters who submitted an absentee ballot request form. Learn about voting absentee by mail.
• Oct. 9: Voter registration deadline (5pm).* Learn about registering to vote.
• Oct. 15: In-person early voting and same-day registration begin.
• Oct. 20: Absentee ballot request deadline (5pm).*
• Oct. 31: In-person early voting and same-day registration end (3pm).
• Nov. 3: Election Day, Absentee ballot return deadline (7:30pm).*

*Voter registration and absentee voting deadlines are different for military and overseas citizen voters.