Friday at 5 p.m. marks the deadline for North Carolina voters to register to vote for the 2024 election — or to make changes to your registration if you’ve moved or changed your name.

Voter registration forms can be complete by mail, online, or in person at Department of Motor Vehicle offices.

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People who plan to vote on Election Day itself on Nov. 5, or by mail, will need to meet that Friday deadline. But people who miss the deadline can still register at a polling place during early voting, and cast a ballot the same day, as long as they bring documents proving their identity such as a non-expired driver's license.

Wake County has 22 early voting sites this year, more than in the past. On Thursday, WRAL News visited the Southeast Raleigh YMCA, where staff were readying the polling site for the start of early voting next week. "If you miss [Friday's] voter registration deadline, then your next opportunity would be to use same-day registration during early voting," Olivia McCall, Wake County's elections director, said.

There are several dates to keep in mind:

  • Oct. 11: Voter registration deadline
    • Oct. 17-Nov. 2: Early voting and same-day voter registration
      • Oct. 29: Deadline for most voters to request mail-in ballots
        • Nov. 4: Deadline for voters in the 25 counties under Helene-related emergency orders to request mail-in ballots
          • Nov. 5: Election Day (you can't register to vote on Election Day)

            WRAL News has a 2024 voting guide with everything you need to know about voting.

            There are a few big changes to note since the last presidential election in 2020:

            • You’ll need to present an approved form of photo voter identification. A drivers license, a passport and many other IDs are acceptable. If you don’t have one, you can still vote by filling out an “reasonable impediment” form explaining why. In that case, you’ll have to vote a provisional ballot.
              • There’s a shorter acceptance window for mail-in ballots. They now have to get to your county elections office no later than 7:30pm on Election Day.
                • Getting results will take longer than it did in 2020. New laws prevent election officials from tallying early in-person votes till the polls close Election Day. Although the law was written by Republican legislators last year, the short delay it caused prompted conspiracy theories among some conservative voters during the primary election this March.

                  Voting in person

                  How do I vote early, but in person? You can only vote in person in the county where you live. You can cast your in-person ballot during the early voting period or on Election Day.North Carolina’s early in-person voting runs for 17 days, from 8 a.m. on Oct. 17 to 3 p.m. on Nov. 2.

                  The hours and locations for early voting vary by county. You can look up your county’s information here.

                  How and where do I vote on Election Day? On Election Day, Nov. 5., polls in North Carolina are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. You should vote at your assigned precinct. You can find your precinct using the state’s voter look-up tool.

                  If you’re in line to vote at 7:30 p.m., you will be allowed to vote.

                  Voting by mail

                  The state has already begun accepting requests for mail-in ballots. Voters have until Oct. 29 to request a ballot — except for western North Carolina voters in the 25 Helene-affected counties, who have until Nov. 4 — but state election officials recommend submitting a request earlier.

                  How do I send in my mail-in ballot? To submit your mail-in ballot, you’ll need a photocopy of your approved voter ID. That goes into the sleeve on the outside of the ballot container envelope. If you don’t have a way to make a copy of your ID, you can fill out the exception form that will come with your ballot.

                  You’ll also need to sign the ballot container envelope, along with two witnesses or one notary to verify they saw you fill it out. They’ll need to print their names and addresses on the ballot envelope as well.

                  Then you put the ballot container envelope inside the return mailing envelope. You will need to add postage — $1.77, or three forever stamps – to get it back to your county elections office.

                  You can track your ballot through the mail, to make sure it gets delivered, using the state's BallotTrax app.

                  If you requested a ballot but didn't receive it, or filled out and mailed one in but don't believe it reached its destination, you can call your county elections office and ask for a new one. The old one will be "spoiled" so it doesn't count — a way of preventing people from stealing mail-in ballots and ensuring that legitimate votes are counted.

                  New rules for western NC

                  While voters in all of North Carolina will be allowed to hand-deliver their mail-in ballots to early voting sites in their home county, voters from the 25 counties under emergency orders from Helene storm damage will be allowed to hand-deliver their mail ballots to any early voting site in any county.

                  Ballots turned in to other counties will need to be brought back to the voter’s home county. State lawmakers ensured that the chain of custody of any ballots must be documented at all times, to ensure no ballots are lost or improperly added. State elections director Karen Brinson Bell said there are additional checks and balances in place to ensure “no ballot harvesting, no ballot stuffing” takes place.

                  A new disaster relief package for western North Carolina also relaxes the rules for poll observers and poll workers, to let people work outside their home counties. And it contains $5 million in additional funding the help counties in that region ensure elections go off as smoothly as possible despite the damage.