About Absentee Voting

No Excuse Absentee Voting

North Carolina Law now allows No Excuse Absentee Voting for a period prior to all elections.  You may submit a written request to have a ballot mailed to you or vote at designated locations during the timeframes outlined below. Listing an excuse is no longer required for voting absentee

Requests by Mail

If you are registered in Wake County, you may request an absentee ballot from the Board of Elections. NCGS 163-230.2 states that a written request for an absentee ballot by mail is valid only if it is written entirely by the requester personally, or is on a form generated by the county board of elections and signed by the requester.

Mail absentee ballot requests to:
Wake County Board of Elections,   PO Box 695,   Raleigh, NC 27602

Include the following in your request for an absentee ballot:

1. Name
2. Address
3. Voter's Wake County residence address and address where the ballot is to be mailed.
4. Party Affiliation (if a Primary)
5. Date of Birth
6. Telephone number
7. Signature

 The VOTER or the voter's NEAR RELATIVE* must send a signed written request to the Wake County Board of Elections office beginning 50 days prior to Election Day. Written requests must be received in the office no later than the Tuesday prior to Election Day. Ballots will be mailed within one to two days after receipt of the written request. In order to be counted, the voted ballot must be received in the Board of Elections office by 5 p.m. on the day before the election.

*A NEAR RELATIVE, as defined by law, is a spouse, brother, sister, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, mother-in-law, father-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, stepparent, stepchild or verifiable legal guardian. Power of attorney is not acceptable as a near relative.

Each request must be signed by the voter or the voter's near relative and must include:

• Voter's name
• Voter's date of birth
• Voter's Wake County residence address and address where the ballot is to be mailed
• Voter's telephone number
• Voter's party affiliation (only for a Primary).

The near relative must also provide his/her name, residence address and relationship.

 One-Stop No Excuse Absentee Voting

If you are registered in Wake County, you may vote One-Stop No Excuse. The One-Stop No Excuse Absentee voting process permits voting at designated locations prior to Election Day. The locations and times will be updated on our website prior to each election. One-Stop No Excuse Voting begins on the first Thursday after the registration deadline and ends at 1 p.m. on the Saturday before the election.

This page last modified on 10/05/2006