– from the N.C. State Board of Elections
On Monday, Jan. 12, North Carolina’s 100 county boards of elections will begin sending absentee-by-mail ballots to registered voters who requested a ballot for the 2026 primary election.
This marks the start of voting for North Carolina’s March 3 primary election. Voters who have already requested absentee-by-mail ballots should receive them in the coming days. In North Carolina, any eligible voter can request, receive, and vote an absentee ballot by mail. Find more information at Vote By Mail.
The absentee ballot request deadline is Tuesday, Feb. 17. Election officials urge voters who wish to vote by mail to request their ballot as early as possible to ensure there is time to receive it and then send it back to their county board of elections so that it is received no later than 7:30 p.m. on Election Day – March 3.
State law previously provided for a grace period if your ballot was postmarked on or before Election Day and received up to three days after the election. That is no longer the case. The ballot must be at the county board office, not in the mail, by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day.
In the primary election, voters will select nominees for a political party to move on to the Nov. 3 general election. In primaries, voters affiliated with a political party will be given a ballot of candidates for their party. Unaffiliated voters may choose the ballot of any one party that has a primary (Democratic or Republican) or a nonpartisan ballot, if available in their jurisdiction. The Green Party and Libertarian Party do not have N.C. primaries in 2026.
Find out more at Upcoming Election.
Sample ballots are available for individual voters by locating their voter record in the State Board of Elections’ Voter Search link.
Scroll down to the “Your Sample Ballot” section and click on the link(s). Note: Unaffiliated voters will have at least two ballot styles listed, and may have three ballot styles if they are eligible to vote in a non-partisan contest, such as a referendum. When requesting an absentee ballot or presenting to vote in person, unaffiliated voters will choose which ballot they wish to vote.
By-mail voters must have two individuals or a notary witness that the voter completed their ballot. The witnesses must sign the ballot return envelope where indicated. By-mail voters also will be asked to place a photocopy of an acceptable photo ID in the sleeve on the back of their ballot envelope. The photocopy does not have to be a color copy, but election officials must be able to read it. Absentee voters who are unable to provide a copy of a photo ID should complete the Photo ID Exception Form that is included with their absentee ballot materials, and place that form in the sleeve indicated for photo ID.
2026 Primary Dates and Deadlines
Here are key dates and deadlines for the 2026 primary election in North Carolina:
- 12: County boards of elections begin mailing absentee ballots to eligible voters who have submitted an absentee ballot request
- 6: Voter registration deadline (5 p.m.)*
- 12: In-person early voting begins; same-day voter registration available
- 17: Absentee ballot request deadline (5 p.m.)*
- 28: In-person early voting ends (3 p.m.)
- March 3: Primary Election Day
- March 3: Absentee ballot return deadline (7:30 p.m.)*
- March 13: County boards of elections primary canvass meetings (11 a.m.)
The asterisk * indicates that there are different deadlines for military and overseas citizen voters.
