VOTER INFO
Vote by Mail
Requesting a Vote-by-Mail (Absentee) Ballot
- The Board of Elections must receive your completed Absentee Ballot Request Form for 2022 no later than 5 p.m., Tuesday, November 1, 2022.
- You can track the status of your ballot request and submitted ballot online.
The fastest way is to submit your mail-in ballot request online with the N.C. State Board of Elections.
— OR —
You can download, print, and submit a Absentee Ballot Request Form for 2022.
If you choose to download the ballot request form, you can submit it by mail or in person at the Orange County Board of Elections. The deadline to request a mail-in ballot is 5 p.m., Tuesday, November 1, 2022.
Completing a Vote-by-Mail
(Absentee) Ballot
When you receive your ballot, complete and return it as soon as possible in case the Board of Elections needs to contact you to correct any errors.
- Complete your ballot in the presence of 2 witnesses.
- Anyone who is 18 years of age or older can be a witness, except a candidate (unless the candidate is your near relative or legal guardian).
- Not sure who to vote for?
- Review your sample ballot and learn about our Democratic candidates at the links listed under our Voter Info menu at the top right corner of our website.
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Put your ballot in the envelope, and sign the envelope.
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Your witnesses will print their name and addresses and then sign the back of the envelope.
Returning Ballots
In Person
- You can return your ballot to
- the Orange County Board of Elections during business hours any time before 5 p.m., Tuesday, November 8
- any Orange County early-voting site during the early-voting period
- Your completed ballot must be received by Election Day, November 8, 2022.
By Mail
- Put $0.60 postage (the amount of a first-class stamp) or a Forever Stamp on your ballot return envelope.
- Your completed ballot must be
- postmarked no later than 5 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, November 8, 2022, AND
- received by the Orange County Board of Elections no later than
5 p.m. on Monday, November 14 - Ballots without a postmark must be received by the Orange County Board of Elections no later than 5 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, November 8.
Tracking Ballots
You can track the status of your submitted mail-in ballot online.
No. State law does not permit voters to fax or email absentee ballot requests.
County boards of elections begin mailing absentee ballots to eligible voters who submitted an absentee ballot request form by September 9, 2022. After that date, you should receive your absentee ballot within about a week of submitting your request, provided the request was received before the deadline.
Track your absentee-by-mail ballot through the mail: Once you have requested your absentee ballot, you can track its status from printed to accepted by signing up online for status notifications through BallotTrax.
No. North Carolina voters are not required to provide or show a photo ID.
Once you have requested your absentee ballot, you can track its status from printed to accepted by signing up online for status notifications through BallotTrax.
Yes. Your near relative or verifiable legal guardian may request a ballot for you. A near relative is your
- Spouse
- Brother
- Sister
- Parent
- Grandparent
- Child
- Grandchild
- Mother-in-law
- Father-in-law
- Daughter-in-law
- Son-in-law
- Stepparent
- Stepchild
If you need assistance requesting your ballot due to disability, these restrictions do not apply, and you may ask any person to request your ballot.
Yes, if your child is a registered North Carolina voter. The request form must include all required information, including the voter’s drivers license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number.
You will sign and provide your
- Address
- Daytime phone number
- Relationship to the voter
The ballot must be mailed.
You are required to provide your North Carolina residential address, which is the place to which, when you are absent, you intend to return. If you are homeless or live in a non-traditional dwelling, you should list under the “Residential Address” section the location or cross-street where you typically stay or sleep and intend to return when you are absent. This place does not have to be an address where you receive mail. If you do not receive mail at your residential address, or if you want your ballot sent to another address, you should provide the mailing address where you receive mail that you want your ballot mailed to.
Yes, you can vote in person instead of completing and submitting your mail-in ballot. Be sure to spoil your mail-in ballot by marking across it before discarding it.
Yes. One notary public or two witnesses must be in your presence when you mark your absentee ballot. They should only observe you marking your ballot, not how you vote. The witnesses must sign and provide their addresses where indicated on the return envelope.
Toll-Free Voter Assistance Hotline
1-833-VOTE4NC
1-833-VOTE4NC
