Voting Facts for NC

The North Carolina Primaries are coming up in May, so to get you ready, here are some facts and general information about voting in NC. This copied directly from an e-mail for NC for Obama.

Need to register or re-register: Print out a registration form and mail it to your county board of election http://www.ncdp.org/register

Find your polling place (or make sure your registration is accurate): http://www.sboe.state.nc.us/votersearch/seimsvot.htm

What if you've moved since you last voted? Then you need to re-register at your new address. More info here: http://www.sboe.state.nc.us/NCSBE/VR/vr_update.html

Registering voters: At no charge you can get blank voter registration forms from your local Board of Elections. Find your local board here: http://www.sboe.state.nc.us/NCSBE/about/directors.asp

What's the deadline to register in NC? The deadline is technically 25 days before an election. However, now you can still register in NC if you miss the deadline (April 11th for the primary). You must go to an early voting site (in the two weeks before an election), register with proper identification, and vote immediately. This is known as same day registration. However, you can not register to vote on Election Day (May 6th). So essentially, the deadline to register is now May 3rd, which is the last day of early voting. More info here: http://ncdp.org/sdr

Can independents and Republicans vote for Obama in NC's primary? Yes and No. Independents (called unaffiliated in NC) can vote for Obama by requesting a Democratic ballot when they vote. Registered Republicans cannot request a Democratic ballot. So tell your "R" friends and family they must re-register by April 11th if they want to vote Obama in NC! (They cannot change their party affiliation after April 11, even through the same day registration program).

Other facts about voting in NC: It is state law that 17-year-olds who will turn 18 by Nov. 4th (and therefore be eligible to vote in the General Election) may register and vote in the primary. Also, many ex-felons do not realize that they can register to vote in NC (in some states they are disenfranchised forever). They must have completed all the terms of their sentence and be finished with parole before they re-register. College students can register at either their school residence or other home residence but they must chose only one (preferably wherever they'll be on election day).