North Carolina voter registration closes Oct 9 for the November 3, 2026 election. Every deadline — registration, mail ballot and early voting — with the official source for each.
Look up your own ballot and polling place →
On Friday, Sept 4, 2026, North Carolina's 100 county boards of elections start mailing absentee ballots to voters who have already requested one. Ballots are not sent automatically - you have to request one.
Online registration is only for existing NC DMV customers, through the DMV. The application must be received by Friday, October 9, 2026 (25 days before the election). Mailed registration forms must be postmarked by Friday, October 9, 2026. Forms with a missing or unclear postmark count only if received by Wednesday, October 14, 2026. Regular in-person registration (DMV or another voter registration agency) must be received by 5:00 PM Friday, October 9, 2026. After that, register in person at an early voting site Oct 15–31 (see sameDay). Same-day registration is available only at early voting sites in your county during early voting (Thu Oct 15 – 3 PM Sat Oct 31, 2026). You can register and vote right away at that site. It is not available to most voters on Election Day.
In-person early voting starts Thursday, October 15, 2026. In-person early voting ends at 3:00 PM Saturday, October 31, 2026. Statewide 17-day period. Vote at any early voting site in your county; sites and hours are set in each county's early voting plan. Same-day registration is available at early voting sites.
Any registered voter can vote by mail. Your county board of elections must receive your absentee ballot request by 5:00 PM Tuesday, October 20, 2026.
In-person early voting ends at 3:00 PM Saturday, October 31, 2026. Statewide 17-day period. Vote at any early voting site in your county; sites and hours are set in each county's early voting plan. Same-day registration is available at early voting sites.
Your county board of elections must receive your completed ballot by 7:30 PM on Election Day. There is NO postmark grace period anymore. You can also drop it off at an early voting site in your county during early voting, but not at an Election Day polling place.
Candidate filing opens at noon on Friday, July 2, 2027. Candidate filing closes at noon on Friday, July 16, 2027.
Candidate filing opens at noon on Friday, July 2, 2027. Candidate filing closes at noon on Friday, July 16, 2027. Whether a nonpartisan primary is needed is not known until filing closes.
Candidate filing opens at noon on Friday, July 2, 2027. Candidate filing closes at noon on Friday, July 16, 2027, unless your city's charter or a local act says otherwise.
Candidate filing closes at noon on Friday, July 16, 2027.
Candidate filing closes at noon on Friday, July 16, 2027. Whether a nonpartisan primary is needed is not known until filing closes.
Candidate filing closes at noon on Friday, July 16, 2027, unless your city's charter or a local act says otherwise.
Register by 5 p.m. on Friday, August 20, 2027. You can also register and vote in person during the early voting period using same-day registration.
Register by 5 p.m. on Friday, September 10, 2027, or register and vote in person during early voting using same-day registration.
State law, not city charters, fixes North Carolina municipal election dates, but each city picks one of four election methods and the method decides whether there is a primary at all. Cities using the partisan method hold their first primary on the second Tuesday after Labor Day. Labor Day 2027 is September 6, so that primary is Tuesday, September 14, 2027. Most North Carolina cities use the nonpartisan plurality method and hold no primary.
Cities using the nonpartisan primary method hold their primary on the fourth Tuesday before the November election, which is Tuesday, October 5, 2027, and only if more than two candidates file for a seat. In cities using the nonpartisan election and runoff method, October 5, 2027 is the election itself, with any runoff on November 2. Your city's method is set in its charter, so check with your county board of elections.
Register by 5 p.m. on Friday, October 8, 2027. You can also register and vote in person during early voting using same-day registration.
North Carolina statute puts municipal general elections on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, which is Tuesday, November 2, 2027. Not every city votes in odd-numbered years: some elect in even years, and cities using the nonpartisan election and runoff method hold their election in October with any runoff on this date.
We publish a gap rather than a guess. These points were not settled by an official source:
Every date above was read from the North Carolina election office's own published material, last checked Tuesday, September 15, 2026. Confirm anything you are relying on with your local election authority.
https://www.ncsbe.gov/voting/upcoming-election
Oct. 9: Voter registration deadline (5 p.m.).*
https://www.ncsbe.gov/registering/how-register/voter-registration-deadlines
Voter registration applications submitted by mail will be processed before the next primary or general election if they are postmarked on or before the 25th day before that primary or election.
https://www.ncsbe.gov/voting/vote-early-person
Although same-day registration is available for voters during early voting, same-day registration is not available for most voters on Election Day.
https://www.ncsbe.gov/news/press-releases/2026/09/02/voting-2026-general-election-begins-week-nc
The deadline to request an absentee ballot is 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20 .
https://www.ncsbe.gov/voting/vote-mail/detailed-instructions-vote-mail
Your ballot must be received by your county board of elections by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day. Note: State law previously provided for a grace period if your ballot was postmarked on or before Election Day and received within three days after the election. That is no longer the case.
https://www.ncsbe.gov/news/events/absentee-voting-begins-november-2026-general-election
Starting Friday, Sep. 4, 2026, county boards of elections begin sending absentee ballots to voters who requested them for the November general election.
https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_163/GS_163-82.6.html
If submitted in person, by facsimile transmission, or by transmission of a scanned document, must be received by the county board of elections by a time established by that board, but no earlier than 5:00 P.M., on the twenty-fifth day before the primary or election,
https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_163/GS_163-291.html
A candidate seeking party nomination for municipal or district office shall file notice of candidacy with the board of elections no earlier than 12:00 noon on the first Friday in July and no later than 12:00 noon on the third Friday in July preceding the election, except:
https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_163/GS_163-294.2.html
Candidates seeking municipal office shall file their notices of candidacy with the board of elections no earlier than 12:00 noon on the first Friday in July and no later than 12:00 noon on the third Friday in July preceding the election, except: