Student Voting Project | North Carolina

Voting at School

ID Requirements

Generally, North Carolina voters do not need to show ID. There are some exceptions. If you register and vote at the same time through One-Stop Absentee voting (see above), you will need to show ID to prove your address. If you are a first-time voter who registered by mail and whose identifying numbers (North Carolina driver's license or non-driver's ID card; last four digits of Social Security number) have not been verified by the state, you will need to show ID when you vote in person or when you cast an absentee ballot. If you have to provide ID under this rule, you'll be notified by the county.

For voters registering and voting through the One-Stop Absentee process, you'll have to show ID that has your name and address, including: a North Carolina driver's license with current address, a utility bill with name and current address (including a telephone or mobile phone bill, an electric or gas bill, a cable television bill, or a water or sewage bill); a document with your current address from a local, state, or U.S. government agency (including a government-issued photo ID, a military ID, a hunting or fishing license, a tax bill, your car registration, a naturalization certificate, a document from a public housing or social service agency, a check, invoice, letter from a government agency, or a birth certificate); a student ID along with a document from your school showing your name and address; a paycheck or paycheck stub or W-2 from your employer; or a bank statement or bank-issued credit card statement.

For first-time voters who register by mail and whose identity isn't yet verified by the state, you'll have to show ID at the polls or submit a copy of ID with your registration or absentee ballot. The following forms of ID are accepted: a current and valid photo identification, or a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows your name and registration address. Student IDs won't count as photo identification unless they're from a public school. Cell phone bills will be accepted as utility bills; the Board of Elections does not have a policy on accepting online printouts of qualifying documents. If you can't show ID, you'll be allowed to vote a provisional ballot, which will be counted if you later produce the required ID to the county board of elections before the final canvass of the election, which is ten days after a general election.

Registration Requirements

The regular voter registration deadline is 25 days before Election Day, and mail-in forms must be postmarked by this deadline. Registration forms are also accepted via fax and email, but only if the original form is received by the county board of elections no later than 20 days before the election.

You can also register to vote and vote at the same time during early voting at the county board of elections office and additional sites during the two calendar weeks before Election Day. Called "One-Stop Absentee" voting, this early voting and same-day registration period extends from nineteen days before the election to three days before the election. Check with the county elections office as to the location and hours of operation of these additional One-Stop Absentee voting sites. If you are registering at the One-Stop Absentee voting sites, you'll need to bring ID with you to prove your residence address (see below for kinds of ID accepted).

Residency Requirements

North Carolina law clearly states that if you intend to make your school community your home during the time you are in school, and have no intent to move back to the address where you lived before attending school, you can claim your school community as your residence and use that address to register to vote. You don't have to intend to stay in North Carolina after graduation or have any definite plans, as long as you don't intend to return to your former home.

Students who lived in North Carolina before moving elsewhere to attend school, and who wish to establish or keep their North Carolina voting residency (i.e., at their parents' North Carolina address), should have no problem doing so unless they've already registered to vote in another state. Like all states, North Carolina allows students to keep their voting residency even if they move out of the district to attend school, and the only way you might lose this residency is by establishing residency in a new state. While registering to vote in another state is not automatically considered an abandonment of your North Carolina residency, some judges or officials might view it as such. Casting a ballot in another state is considered an abandonment of residency under North Carolina law , and students who have voted in other states will have to re-establish residency if they wish to vote in North Carolina.

Challenges to Residency

Your registration shouldn't be challenged based on your residency, but if it is, you'll have the right to participate in the challenge hearing process and appeal any decision in court.

In addition, your residency can be challenged when you are at the polls by any other voter who is registered in your precinct; if the challenge is upheld by poll workers, you'll have to vote a challenged ballot, but you can appeal to court to have your ballot counted.

Absentee Requirement

Anyone registered in North Carolina can vote absentee by mail, but the procedure is somewhat complicated: first, your request for a ballot must be handwritten, and second, your ballot must be witnessed by two adults.

Voting at Home

ID Requirements

Generally, North Carolina voters do not need to show ID. There are some exceptions. If you register and vote at the same time through One-Stop Absentee voting (see above), you will need to show ID to prove your address. If you are a first-time voter who registered by mail and whose identifying numbers (North Carolina driver's license or non-driver's ID card; last four digits of Social Security number) have not been verified by the state, you will need to show ID when you vote in person or when you cast an absentee ballot. If you have to provide ID under this rule, you'll be notified by the county.

For voters registering and voting through the One-Stop Absentee process, you'll have to show ID that has your name and address, including: a North Carolina driver's license with current address, a utility bill with name and current address (including a telephone or mobile phone bill, an electric or gas bill, a cable television bill, or a water or sewage bill); a document with your current address from a local, state, or U.S. government agency (including a government-issued photo ID, a military ID, a hunting or fishing license, a tax bill, your car registration, a naturalization certificate, a document from a public housing or social service agency, a check, invoice, letter from a government agency, or a birth certificate); a student ID along with a document from your school showing your name and address; a paycheck or paycheck stub or W-2 from your employer; or a bank statement or bank-issued credit card statement.

For first-time voters who register by mail and whose identity isn't yet verified by the state, you'll have to show ID at the polls or submit a copy of ID with your registration or absentee ballot. The following forms of ID are accepted: a current and valid photo identification, or a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows your name and registration address. Student IDs won't count as photo identification unless they're from a public school. Cell phone bills will be accepted as utility bills; the Board of Elections does not have a policy on accepting online printouts of qualifying documents. If you can't show ID, you'll be allowed to vote a provisional ballot, which will be counted if you later produce the required ID to the county board of elections before the final canvass of the election, which is ten days after a general election.

Registration Requirements

The regular voter registration deadline is 25 days before Election Day, and mail-in forms must be postmarked by this deadline. Registration forms are also accepted via fax and email, but only if the original form is received by the county board of elections no later than 20 days before the election.

You can also register to vote and vote at the same time during early voting at the county board of elections office and additional sites during the two calendar weeks before Election Day. Called "One-Stop Absentee" voting, this early voting and same-day registration period extends from nineteen days before the election to three days before the election. Check with the county elections office as to the location and hours of operation of these additional One-Stop Absentee voting sites. If you are registering at the One-Stop Absentee voting sites, you'll need to bring ID with you to prove your residence address (see below for kinds of ID accepted).

Residency Requirements

North Carolina law clearly states that if you intend to make your school community your home during the time you are in school, and have no intent to move back to the address where you lived before attending school, you can claim your school community as your residence and use that address to register to vote. You don't have to intend to stay in North Carolina after graduation or have any definite plans, as long as you don't intend to return to your former home.

Students who lived in North Carolina before moving elsewhere to attend school, and who wish to establish or keep their North Carolina voting residency (i.e., at their parents' North Carolina address), should have no problem doing so unless they've already registered to vote in another state. Like all states, North Carolina allows students to keep their voting residency even if they move out of the district to attend school, and the only way you might lose this residency is by establishing residency in a new state. While registering to vote in another state is not automatically considered an abandonment of your North Carolina residency, some judges or officials might view it as such. Casting a ballot in another state is considered an abandonment of residency under North Carolina law , and students who have voted in other states will have to re-establish residency if they wish to vote in North Carolina.

Challenges to Residency

Your registration shouldn't be challenged based on your residency, but if it is, you'll have the right to participate in the challenge hearing process and appeal any decision in court.

In addition, your residency can be challenged when you are at the polls by any other voter who is registered in your precinct; if the challenge is upheld by poll workers, you'll have to vote a challenged ballot, but you can appeal to court to have your ballot counted.

Absentee Requirement

Any registered voter can vote absentee by mail. You must hand-write your request for an absentee ballot, and your request must include your name, your residential address (where you're registered), your mailing address (where the ballot should be sent), your date of birth, and your signature. Your request does not need to be witnessed. Your county elections office must receive your request to vote absentee by the Tuesday before Election Day.

After receiving your request and verifying that you are eligible to vote, the county board of elections will mail you an absentee ballot along with instructions on how to vote and return your ballot to the county board of elections. When you fill out your absentee ballot, you must be witnessed by two people over the age of 18 who will then have to sign your ballot envelope. Your county elections office must receive your absentee ballot by 5:00 p.m. on the day before Election Day.

[1] N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. §163-57(11) (West 2008).

[2] Id; see also Hall v. Wake County Bd. of Elections, 187 SE2d 52 (1972)

[3] N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 163-57

[4]N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 163-82.7 through -90.2 (West 2008).

[5] N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 163-87 through -88.1; -90.2  (West 2008).

[6] N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. §163-82.6 (West 2008).

[7] N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. §163-82.6A (West 2008).

[8] N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. §163-166.12 (West 2008).

[9] N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 163-166.12

[10] Interview with Don Wright, North Carolina State Board of Elections (May 9, 2008).

[11] N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. §163-226 (West 2008).

[12] N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. §163-230.1 (West 2008).