North Carolina: Know Your Voting Rights

.

If you are registered to vote, DO NOT LEAVE YOUR POLLING PLACE WITHOUT VOTING! Every registered voter is entitled to cast a provisional ballot.

Check your North Carolina voter registration and polling place location here.

If you are in line before the poll's closing time, you are entitled to vote. North Carolina polls are open from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 7th.

You are entitled to view a sample ballot at the polling place before voting.

If you have any problems, questions, or concerns, call the Voting Rights Hotline at 1-888-336-8683 or call the Election Protection Hotline at 1-866-OUR-VOTE, or in Spanish, 1-888-VE-Y-VOTA a joint project of state and national civil rights organizations. (Bring your cell phone.)

Here are your rights:

You have the right to take this with you to the polls. (.)

1. On Election Day, each polling place opens at 6:30 A.M. and closes at 7:30 P.M. If you are in line or in the process of voting when the polls close at 7:30, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT to vote. To be eligible to vote, you must register to vote 25 days before the date of the election. [N.C.G.S. 163-166.01, 163-82.6c] To vote on November 7th, you must register by Friday, October 13th.

2. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT to vote without showing your voter registration card to poll workers. [N.C.G.S. 163-82.8]

3. If you have moved and have lived in your new location more than 30 days, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT to vote in your new precinct or at a central location. If you have moved but have lived in your new location less than 30 days, you must vote in your old precinct. [N.C.G.S. 163-82.15]

4. If your name has changed since you registered to vote, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT to vote even if you have not reported to election officials that your name has changed. [N.C.G.S. 163-82.16]

5. If you make a mistake or 'spoil' your ballot and have not cast the ballot, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT to receive up to three replacement ballots. [8 N.C.A.C. 10B.0104b]

6. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT to have your spouse, brother, sister, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, mother-in-law, father-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, stepparent, or stepchild, as chosen by you, to accompany you in the voting booth. [N.C.G.S. 163-166.8]

7. If you cannot read or write, or you are blind or otherwise disabled, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT to request special assistance from a person of your choice who is not your employer or union officer to help you vote. [N.C.G.S. 163-166.8]

8. If you are disabled and cannot enter the polling place, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT to vote in the immediate proximity of the polling place, including in the vehicle that brought you to the polls. [N.C.G.S. 163-166.9]

9. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT to vote without being intimidated or forced to vote for someone you do not wish to vote for. In elections for federal office, attempts to coerce your vote carry federal criminal penalties. [N.C.G.S. 163-271]

10. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT to receive a Provisional Ballot if: * you have applied for voter registration in the county, but your name is not on the rolls; * you have been registered but your name has been removed from the list even though you have remained a qualified voter in the county; or * you question the voting districts (and ballots) to which you have been assigned and believe that you are qualified to vote a different ballot. [8 N.C.A.C. 10B.0103d] * you also have the right to find out whether the provisional ballot was counted, and if not, the reason the vote was not counted. [N.C.G.S. 163-166.11]

11. If you live in a county with a greater than 6% Latino/Hispanic population, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT to receive ballot instructions in Spanish. Voters should still ask for bilingual materials if they need them regardless of their county. [N.C.G.S. 163-165.5A]

12. Under a new federal law, first-time voters who register to vote by mail and do not send in a form of identification, and first-time voters who register through a voter registration drive, will be asked to show identification to a poll worker. Identification may be either a current and valid photo ID, or a document showing the current name and address of the voter. [N.C.G.S. 163-166.12]

13. If you are an ex-felon who has completed all terms of your sentence including parole, probation and restitution, your citizenship rights are automatically restored and YOU HAVE THE RIGHT to re-register and vote. [N.C.G.S. 13-1]