Absentee ballots will be mailed starting this Friday, Sept. 6, for the 2024 General Election, and North Carolina’s ballot will include seven presidential candidates.
Any North Carolina registered voter may request, receive and vote a mail-in absentee ballot where absentee voting is permitted. Registered voters can request an absentee ballot with an official N.C. Absentee Ballot Request Form.
Per recent state law, absentee ballots must be received at the election office by 7:30 p.m. on Election Night, Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Presidential ballot
Following a court ruling, on Aug. 20, the NCSBE recognized the Justice for All Party as an official party and put its presidential candidate Cornel West on the ballot. Previously, the NCSBE denied the Justice for All Party’s petition for party status in North Carolina.
On Aug. 29, following Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dropping out of the presidential race and endorsing Donald Trump, the We the People Party petitioned the NCSBE to remove Kennedy from the ballot. The board denied it along party lines, citing the implacability of reprinting ballots as they’ve already printed two million.
For the 2024 Election, there will be seven presidential candidates on the ballot. In order of the random drawing: Kamala D. Harris (Democrat), Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (We the People), Chase Oliver (Libertarian), Jill Stein (Green), Randall Terry (Constitution), Donald J. Trump (Republican) and Cornel West (Justice for All).
Referendums
There will be two referendums on the ballot. The first is a state constitutional amendment question on whether to enshrine entitlement to vote in North Carolina for citizens 18 years or older.
The second is a Macon County-only vote asking if the county sales tax should be raised by 0.25% or one-quarter of one percent.
Voter IDs and registration
In August, the NCSBE approved additional IDs for voting in 2024, including the Southwestern Community College and Brevard College student IDs. The state previously approved driver’s licenses and most university IDs as North Carolina enters the second year of mandating an ID card for someone to vote. If you do not have a drivers license or other approved identification, the Macon County Board of Elections can make Voter ID cards. Identification cards are also available through the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Oct. 11 is the deadline to register to vote, but people can fill out provisional ballots at Early Voting while registering to vote. Early voting begins Oct. 17 and runs through Nov. 2. You cannot register to vote on Election Day.
“Voters may register with the Constitution, Democratic, Green, Justice For All, Libertarian, No Labels, Republican, or We The People parties or they can register as unaffiliated,” the NCSBE stated.
Voters can check their registration status on the State Board of Elections website (ncsbe.gov), or by calling the local office at 828-349-2034.
The Macon County Board of Elections will host two National Voter Registration Day events on Tuesday, Sept. 17. The events will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Crawford Senior Center in Franklin and the Highlands Civic Center.
Board of Elections staff members will be available to answer questions, register voters, assist with absentee ballot requests, and take photos for voter ID cards. Cards will be mailed to voters.