Wake County: Regular voter registration closed at 5 p.m.; early voting starts Oct. 15

The regular deadline to register for the Nov. 3 election was 5 p.m. today.

The deadline is statewide, the North Carolina State Board of Elections says. It fell 25 days before Election Day. Wake County's Board of Elections said a form had to arrive at the county office by 5 p.m. or be postmarked today.

Missing the deadline does not close the door. The state board says people can still register and vote during early voting at any site in their county.

If you mailed a form today

A Postal Service postmark of Oct. 9 still counts, the state board says. The board warns that a postmark is applied when mail is processed, which may not be the same day a letter is collected. Anyone who mailed a form today can ask for a manual postmark at a post office retail counter.

People with a North Carolina driver license or DMV identification card who applied online through myNCDMV before the deadline used the state's free site. That window followed the same 5 p.m. cutoff.

Voters can check their registration and view a sample ballot through the state's voter search tool, or at wake.gov/upcomingelection. Wake County says people who have moved into the county from another county must register again here.

What to do now

Early voting starts Thursday, Oct. 15, and ends at 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31. During that period, people who are not already registered may register and vote at an early voting site in their county, the state board says.

Those same-day registrants have to attest to their eligibility, including U.S. citizenship, show proof of where they live, and show an acceptable photo ID.

Wake County has 18 early voting sites. Any eligible Wake County voter may use any of them. The county's hours are 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekdays, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays, and 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays. The full list is on the county elections page.

Wake County says you may update your name or address at an early voting site, but you may not change your party affiliation during early voting.

North Carolina residents generally may not register on Election Day, the state board says, unless they become a U.S. citizen or have their voting rights restored after a felony conviction after today's deadline.

Who can register

The county and the state board list the same basic rules. A person must be a U.S. citizen, be at least 18 on or before Nov. 3, have lived at the North Carolina residence where they are registering for 30 days before Election Day, and not be serving a felony sentence, including probation, post-release supervision or parole.

Deadlines are different for military and overseas voters.

Voters will be asked to show photo ID when they vote. The state board and Wake County both point to the state's voter ID page for the list of accepted IDs.

What is on the ballot

The Nov. 3 election includes one U.S. Senate seat, 14 U.S. House seats, one N.C. Supreme Court seat, three N.C. Court of Appeals seats, all 170 General Assembly seats, and local offices such as sheriffs, county commissioners and school boards, the state board says.

The last day to request an absentee ballot is 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20. Election Day polls are open 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Wake County's Board of Elections says it maintains registration records for more than 860,000 voters. The office's phone number is 919-404-4040.