Editor’s Note: The executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections delivered these remarks on early voting on Tuesday.

BY KAREN BRINSON BELL

Seventeen days of in-person, early voting in all 100 North Carolina counties begins this Thursday.

In-person early voting has been the most popular form of voting in recent general elections, and we expect that will continue in 2024.

In 2020, for example, 65 percent of North Carolina voters chose in-person early voting as their voting method. And back in the presidential election of 2016, 62 percent of NC voters chose to vote early.

In all, 419 early voting sites will open across North Carolina on Thursday. Voters may cast their ballot at any early voting site in their county. Schedules vary by county, though early voting ends at all early voting sites at 3 p.m. Saturday, November 2.

We are very proud of this next statistic. Despite the destruction caused by Hurricane Helene, 76 early voting sites will open to voters on Thursday in the 25 Western North Carolina counties listed in the federal disaster declaration. Before the storm, 80 sites were planned, so we just lost a few, despite the extensive damage, loss of power, water, internet and phone service and the washing out of roads throughout the region.

An enormous amount of credit goes to our emergency management and FEMA partners, power companies, and, of course, the county boards of elections in the western part of the state. To have almost all early voting sites open after such a devastating storm is an effort all North Carolinians should be proud of. We are especially grateful to residents of western North Carolina who suffered greatly from the storm but who will show up to work at early voting sites this week.

The people of Western North Carolina will vote.

The best way to find your county’s early voting schedule is through the Early Voting Site Search tool on the State Board’s website, ncsbe.gov.

A few more important reminders:

♦ Sample ballots for the general election are available through the Voter Search tool at NCSBE.gov.

♦ Individuals who missed the regular voter registration deadline on October 11 may register and vote at the same time during the early voting period. Eligible individuals will need to bring official proof of address, such as a driver’s license or other government document, paycheck, utility bill, or bank statement. This is the only option for individuals who missed the regular registration deadline to be able to register and vote in the general election.

♦ Also, don’t forget your photo ID. All voters will be asked to show photo ID when they check in to vote. If you don’t have an ID, you can fill out a Photo ID Exception Form explaining why you cannot show ID and vote a provisional ballot.

♦ Finally, voters in the 25 Western North Carolina counties included in the state disaster law may drop off their absentee ballot at any early voting site in the state. So if you’re a Buncombe County resident staying temporarily in the Charlotte area, you can drop your ballot off at any early voting site in Mecklenburg County during the early voting period. You can also drop your absentee ballot off at any county board of elections office in North Carolina, or at the State Board office in Raleigh.

As always, we encourage all eligible North Carolinians to cast their ballot and make their voice heard in this important election. Election officials across North Carolina will make sure your vote counts.

Karen Brinson Bell is the executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections.