Voter registration deadline for November elections is Oct. 10

Burke County residents eligible to vote in the November elections have about two months to register.

The deadline is 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 10. State law requires a regular voter registration deadline 25 days before an election.

To be eligible to vote in a municipal election, you must be a resident of the municipality. Working within a city or town does not make a voter eligible to vote in municipal elections. Similarly, while a voter’s postal address may indicate a municipality, that does not always mean their residence is within the incorporated boundaries of the municipality.

Eligible individuals who miss the regular registration deadlines may register and vote at the same time during the in-person early voting period at any early voting site in their county. Early voting in Burke County begins Oct. 16 and runs through Nov. 1 Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 4.

HOW TO REGISTER

Eligible individuals have many options to register to vote.

If the individual has a North Carolina’s driver’s license or other NCDMV identification, they may submit a voter registration application online at ncdot.gov/dmv.

Eligible individuals may also register to vote when applying for services at a number of state agencies. Learn more at the State Board of Elections’ website, ncsbe.gov.

Any eligible resident can complete a Voter Registration Application in English or Spanish on paper and return it to their county board of elections office by 5 p.m. the day of the deadline. The Burke County Board of Elections is located at 2128 S. Sterling St.

Mailed registration applications postmarked on or before the deadline are valid. If submitted by fax or e-mail, the application must be received by 5 p.m. on the deadline date, and a hard copy of the document must be delivered to the county board office by 20 days before the election.

North Carolina residents may not register to vote on Election Day, unless they become eligible after the registration deadline due to becoming a U.S. citizen or having their rights restored following a felony conviction.

REQUIREMENTS FOR VOTER REGISTRATION

To register to vote, a person must:

• Be a U.S. citizen
• Live in the county of their registration, and will have lived there for at least 30 days before Election Day
• Be at least 18 years old by the date of the general election (16- and 17-year-olds may preregister to vote)
• Not be serving a felony sentence, including any period of probation, post-release supervision, or parole.

UPDATING VOTER REGISTRATION

Voters who need to update their existing voter registration may use the NCDMV website or a regular voter registration application.

Those with a North Carolina driver’s license or other NCDMV identification may update their residential or mailing address and party affiliation through the NCDMV online service but may not change their name through that service.

Registered voters may also update an existing registration at an early voting site during the early voting period.

More information can be found online at www.ncsbe.gov/registering.