Election Countdown Tip, Week 6: Make a Plan

There are 42 days until Election Day, Tuesday, November 8. Do you have a plan? The North Carolina State Board of Elections website, ncsbe.gov, offers a wealth of information.

Are you registered to vote at your current address? 

You can register easily online at ncsbe.gov.  The deadline for registering for the November 8 election is October 14, or you can register and vote at the same time during One-Stop Early Voting, which runs from October 20 through November 5. (See Early Voting hours and locations here.)

Know who’s running for office? 

If you are registered to vote, you can find your sample ballot here.

If you are not yet registered to vote, see this recent article for a list of all the candidates in Asheville and Buncombe County.

Know how you want to vote? 

You have several options for voting: vote by absentee mail-in ballot, vote early, or vote on Election Day.

• To vote absentee by mail, you must first request an absentee ballot. Voting by mail in North Carolina takes three simple steps — requesting, completing, and returning a ballot. The deadline for requesting an absentee ballot is November 1. If you return your completed ballot to the local Board of Elections, it must be received by November 8. If you mail it in, it must be postmarked by November 8 and received at the NC State Board of Elections by 5 p.m. November 14. Note: You must be registered in order to request an absentee ballot. Find complete instructions for voting by mail on the NCSBE website here.
• Early voting starts on Thursday, October 20, and ends at 3 pm on Saturday, November 5. You can vote early — and register at the same time! — at any of 12 early voting locations around the county. You can view and download Buncombe County’s complete Early Voting Schedule here.
• To vote on Election Day, Tuesday, November 8, you must vote at your assigned polling place. Polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Note: If you’re in line at 7:30 p.m., you will be allowed to cast your vote. For information on finding your polling place, Covid-19 safety measures, curbside voting for those with disabilities, and more, see Election Day Voting details here.

Your Vote Matters! 

North Carolina’s Senate race is considered one of the most-likely-to-flip seats in the country, with Democrat Cheri Beasley and Republican Ted Budd running neck and neck. If you think your vote doesn’t matter, consider this: Beasley lost her last election, for reelection to the North Carolina Supreme Court, by 401 votes.

Every race matters, right down to the school boards that are banning books and whitewashing truth out of curricula.

Previous Countdown Tips

Week 7 countdown tip was Power the Polls. Sign up to be a poll worker! Democracy only works when we all do our part.