2026 N.C. Primary Voter Guide

According to the North Carolina State Board of Elections, you must:

1. Be a U.S. citizen
2. Live in the county where you are registering, and have resided there for at least 30 days prior to Election Day
3. Be at least 18 years old, or will be by the date of the general election
4. Not be serving a felony sentence, including any period of probation, post-release supervision, or parole

More than 100,000 North Carolina voters had their registration flagged for repair, meaning the North Carolina State Board of Elections determined those people must update their voter registration with further identification.

If you received one of these letters, you should be able to vote on Election Day, according to the NCSBE. Voters can update their registration by mail, through the North Carolina DMV website, or in-person at their local elections office.

All North Carolina voting locations will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3. “Any voter in line at their assigned polling place at 7:30 p.m. will be able to vote,” according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections.

All North Carolina voters will be asked to show photo ID when voting, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections.

Voters unable to show a photo ID when voting are able to fill out an “ID Exception Form” that allows for three permitted exceptions:

1. The voter has a “reasonable impediment” to showing photo ID. This means that something is preventing the voter from showing ID. The voter must provide their reason by selecting at least one of 10 choices listed on the form.
2. The voter has a religious objection to being photographed.
3. The voter was a victim of a natural disaster within 100 days before Election Day that resulted in a disaster declaration by the President of the United States or the Governor of North Carolina.

Here is the NCSBE’s list of acceptable photo IDs that are either unexpired or expired for one year or less:

• North Carolina driver’s license
• State ID from the NCDMV (also called “non-operator ID”)
• Driver’s license or non-driver ID from another state, District of Columbia, or U.S. territory (only if voter registered in North Carolina within 90 days of the election)
• U.S. Passport or U.S. Passport card
• North Carolina voter photo ID card issued by a county board of elections
• College or university student ID approved by the State Board of Elections
• State or local government or charter school employee ID approved by the State Board of Elections

The NCSBE notes that any voter 65 years of age or older “may use an expired form of acceptable ID if the ID was unexpired on their 65th birthday.” In addition, the following photo IDs may be used regardless of expiration or issuance date:

• Military or veterans ID card (with photo) issued by the U.S. government
• Tribal enrollment card (with photo) issued by a tribe recognized by the State of North Carolina or the federal government
• ID card (with photo) issued by an agency of the U.S. government or the State of North Carolina for a public assistance program (Note: Although this is an acceptable form of ID under North Carolina law, the State Board is not aware of any such ID in circulation that contains a photo. All IDs for voting are required to have a photo.)