RALEIGH, N.C.
North Carolina’s 100 county boards of elections on Monday, Jan. 12, began sending absentee-by-mail ballots to registered voters who requested a ballot for the 2026 primary election.
This marks the start of voting for North Carolina’s March 3 primary election.
Voters who have already requested absentee-by-mail ballots should receive them in the coming days.
In North Carolina, any eligible voter can request, receive, and vote an absentee ballot by mail. Find more information at Vote By Mail.
The absentee ballot request deadline is Tuesday, Feb. 17.
Election officials urge voters who wish to vote by mail to request their ballot as early as possible to ensure there is time to receive it and then send it back to their county board of elections so that it is received no later than 7:30 p.m. on Election Day – March 3.
State law previously provided for a grace period if your ballot was postmarked on or before Election Day and received up to three days after the election. That is no longer the case. The ballot must be at the county board office, not in the mail, by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day.
In the primary election, voters will select nominees for a political party to move on to the Nov. 3 general election.
In primaries, voters affiliated with a political party will be given a ballot of candidates for their party.
Unaffiliated voters may choose the ballot of any one party that has a primary (Democratic or Republican) or a nonpartisan ballot, if available in their jurisdiction.
The Green Party and Libertarian Party do not have NC primaries in 2026. More information: Upcoming Election.
