Special to Iredell Free News
RALEIGH — Absentee-by-mail voters in North Carolina will be able to track the status of their ballots for the May 17 statewide primary election. The State Board of Elections is again offering a service called BallotTrax, which was first available in the 2020 general election.
Using this service, by-mail voters can track their absentee ballot throughout the voting process, from when it’s sent by the county board of elections to when the completed ballot is received by election officials. Sign up at BallotTrax: North Carolina.
It’s a popular and easy-to-use service. More than 400,000 N.C. voters signed up for BallotTrax in 2020.
BallotTrax sends a series of alerts to the voter as the ballot moves through the process.
“By tracking their ballot, voters can have peace of mind that their ballot was received by their county board of elections,” said Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the State Board of Elections. “This is one of the many ways North Carolina elections officials are helping voters ensure that their vote counts.”
Registered voters who wish to vote by mail and track their ballot may create a BallotTrax account. (Note: Voters who do not vote by mail will not use BallotTrax, since in-person voters submit their ballots directly into ballot tabulation machines to be counted.)
With an account, voters will be able to:
♦ Log in to view the status of their absentee by-mail request and ballot. This includes confirmation that the county board of elections has received the request, that the ballot has been mailed to the voter, and that the completed ballot has been received by the county board of elections.
♦ Learn if their ballot cannot be accepted because of issues such as a missing signature or witness information. If this occurs, the county board of elections will provide information to the voter on how to correct the issue.
♦ Sign up for email, text, and/or voice alerts for status updates.
♦ For frequently asked questions and answers, visit Frequently Asked Questions | BallotTrax.
Any voters who signed up for BallotTrax in 2020 or 2021 should still be in the system and will not have to sign up again unless the voter moved to a different county.
Three Ways to Vote in 2022
As always, North Carolina voters have three main options for voting: mail-in absentee, in-person during the early voting period, and in-person on Election Day.
♦ For more information on voting by mail, including how to request an absentee ballot, see Vote By Mail.
♦ For information on voting early in person, see Vote Early in Person.
♦ For more information on Election Day voting, see Vote in Person on Election Day.
Check Your Voter Registration
Election officials remind voters that they may check their registration status through the State Board’s Voter Search tool. Here, voters may check their voting districts, including those that may have changed during the most recent redistricting process. All changes resulting from redistricting are now updated in the statewide database.
By-mail voters who do not use BallotTrax may also determine the status of their ballot by using the Voter Search tool, which will display when the ballot is accepted by the voter’s county board of elections. Voters may also contact their county board of elections to ask about the status of a ballot.
2022 Primary Dates and Deadlines
♦ March 28: The date by which the boards of elections must make available absentee ballots, unless reduced by five days under N.C.G.S. 163-227.10(a).
♦ April 22: Civilian voter registration deadline for the primary.
♦ April 28: One-stop, in-person early voting period begins for the primary, under N.C.G.S. 163-227.2(b).
♦ May 10: Deadline for civilians to submit an absentee ballot request form for the primary.
♦ May 14: One-stop, in-person early voting period ends at 3 p.m. for the primary, under N.C.G.S. 163-227.2(b).
♦ May 17: Primary Election Day.