BY KARISSA MILLER
The Iredell County Elections Office staff mailed out more than 4,200 absentee ballots for the November 5 election on Tuesday morning.
Any registered voter can file a request for absentee ballot through the North Carolina State Board of Elections website. Voters can also pick up absentee request forms from the Iredell County Elections Office, located at 203 Stockton Street in Statesville. According to election officials, you can request a ballot for a spouse or an elderly family member.
The last day to request an absentee by mail ballot is October 29 at 5 p.m.
During the 2020 general election, a total of 22,192 voters in Iredell County requested absentee ballots.
According to Elections Director Susie Jordan, North Carolina had been poised to be the first state in the nation to send out ballots to voters for the November election.
However, the N.C. Supreme Court, in a 4-3 ruling, required elections officials to remove the We the People Party line from the presidential contest on the ballot, including the party’s presidential nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and vice president nominee Nicole Shanahan, from the ballot after they dropped out of the race.
“We had to go through the printing process again with his name off of the ballot,” Jordan explained.
Voters will be asked to show photo identification when voting. However, Jordan said that she wants the public to know that “with or without a photo ID, a voter will not be turned away.”
“There is a process we have if you don’t have a photo ID,” Jordan said, explaining that there is Photo ID Exception Form.
“If you have questions come to our office or call us. There is so much false stuff out there and we want people to come to the source,” she added.
LEARN MORE
Call the the Iredell County Elections Office at 704-878-3140.
Important Dates
Here are some important dates and deadlines to keep in mind:
• September 20: Absentee by mail voting begins for military and overseas.
• September 24: Absentee by mail voting begins
• October 11: Last day to register to vote on Election Day
• October 17: Early in-person voting begins. You can register and vote on the same day during early voting
• October 29: The last day for a voter to request an absentee by mail ballot.
• November 2: Early voting ends.
• November 5: Last day to return an absentee by mail ballot. Mail-in ballots must be received by the time polls close on Election Day.
• November 5: Election Day. Polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m.