Voting Absentee

Any person who is registered to vote in North Carolina can vote an absentee-by-mail ballot or at a One-Stop voting site in their county during the designated absentee voting periods before the day of the Election. This is known as Absentee Voting.  

Absentee Voting (absentee-by-mail, UOCAVA (Military/Overseas) and One-Stop Early Voting, Same-Day registration) is allowed in all elections, except the Municipal Election for the Town of Vanceboro currently.

Absentee -by-Mail Voting 

2022 ABSENTEE LIST OF VOTERS   (YOU CAN SELECT THE FILE TO VIEW)

2022 STATE ABSENTEE BALLOT REQUEST FORM-FILLABLE   (THEN PRINT)

2022 State Absentee Ballot Request Portal

(Ballots will start being mailed after September 9, 2022 and end November 1, 2022)

When a county board of elections marks a ballot as Accepted, that information will appear in that voter’s record available through the State Board’s Voter Search Tool. Because absentee ballot request information is confidential under state law until the ballot is accepted or until Election Day, absentee request information does not appear in the Voter Search Tool.  TO CHECK IF YOUR BALLOT HAS BEEN RECEIVED/RETURNED/ACCEPTED CLICK HERE(ABSENTEE BALLOT CHECK) 

On the page enter your name as requested; select Craven under County; Click SEARCH; Click on your name in BLUE; Click on ABSENTEE REQUEST. 

Who may Request an Absentee-by-mail ballot?   A registered voter or the voter’s near relative (spouse, sibling, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, mother-in-law, father-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, stepparent, or stepchild), or a voter’s allowable assistant may request an absentee ballot to be mailed during an election by requesting an absentee-by-mail ballot on the required form State Absentee Ballot 2022 Fillable Request  Opens in New Window   for each specific election.  No excuse is needed to vote absentee. The request form has to be fully completed and signed by the registered voter or a "near relative" of the voter requesting the ballot. An absentee-by-mail request has to be made for each election a voter wants an absentee ballot.
By law, a "Power of Attorney" is not allowed to sign for the voter. The voter must make his/her mark or signature on the request or signed by the allowed near relative in the proper section on the request form.
Assistance Requesting an Absentee by Mail Ballot:
-Voters who are blind or disabled, or who cannot read or write may receive assistance in completing the request form.
-If the assistance is provided by someone other than a near relative or legal guardian, that person’s name and address must be listed on the State Absentee Ballot Request Form.
Returning the State Absentee Ballot Request Form:
-Completed request forms may only be delivered to the county board of elections by mail or in-person by one of the following:
1. the voter; 2. the voter’s near relative or verifiable legal guardian; 3. a member of a multi-partisan assistance team (MAT);
4. U.S. Postal Service or designated delivery service authorized pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 7502(f). All in-person requests received will be logged in by the person returning the absentee ballot request form.
Forms returned by any other person or means listed will not be processed. 
DEADLINE for Requesting an Absentee by mail Ballot:  A signed and completed State Absentee Ballot Request Form must be received by your county board of elections no later than 5:00 p.m. on the last Tuesday prior to the date of the election for which the ballot is being requested. Requests that are received after the absentee request deadline will not be deemed timely, regardless of any postmark date. Once the request is received and contains all required information and received timely, the request will be processed and the balloting materials will be mailed to the registered voter.

2022 STATE ABSENTEE BALLOT REQUEST FORM LINK

STATE ABSENTEE REQUEST FORM-FILLABLE (THEN PRINT)

November General Election Absentee Request Deadline:   NOVEMBER 1, 2022 5 PM

Voters should be cautious to allow adequate time for the request to be processed and the ballot to be mailed. The Board of Elections will begin mailing ballots 50 days prior to Election Day for Primaries and General Elections and 30 days prior to Municipal Elections. Again, it is in the best interest of the voter to submit a request for an absentee-by-mail ballot as early as possible. All requests received in-person will be logged in by the person returning the absentee ballot request form.
Voting/Returning Absentee-by-mail Ballot:
Obtain witness/Mark Ballot: In the presence of TWO witnesses or one notary, the voter should mark the ballot, or if the voter is unable to mark the ballot, shall cause it to be marked according to the voter’s instructions. (A witness should not observe so closely that they are able to see what votes the voter marked. What is required is that the witness sees the that the voter is voting the ballot.)  Prohibited witnesses:  1.  A person who is under 18; 2.  An individual who is a candidate for nomination or election to such office, unless the voter is the candidate’s near relative; 3.  Additionally, if the voter is a patient or resident of a hospital, clinic, nursing home, or rest home, the following people are also prohibited from serving as a witness on the absentee ballot: a.  An owner, manager, director, employee of the hospital, clinic, nursing home, or rest home in which the voter is a patient or resident; b.  An individual who holds any elective office under the United States, this State, or any political subdivision of this State; c. An individual who holds any office in a State, congressional district, county, or precinct political party or organization, or who is a campaign manager or treasurer for any candidate or political party; provided that a delegate to a convention shall not be considered a party office.  Certification of Witness & Assistants:  1.  The voter’s witnesses must, after observing  the voter marking the ballot, complete and sign the envelope in the space designated as Witnesses or notary,  certify below; 2. Any person who assisted the voter must sign and date the certificate in the proper place on the envelope. After Marking the Ballot:  Once the ballot is marked, the voter or a person assisting the voter must:  1) seal the ballot and document in the container-return envelope and 2) complete the Absentee Application and Certificate on the ballot container-return envelope. Return the Voted Ballot:  For civilian absentee voters, once the Absentee Application and Certificate is fully executed with all relevant signatures, the voted ballot (placed inside the container-return envelope) must be returned to the county board of elections no later than 5:00 PM on Election Day. Absentee ballots received after 5:00 PM on Election Day will be timely only if they are received by mail no later than 5:00 PM on the third day following the date of the election, and bear a postmark that is dated on or before Election Day. The envelope may be mailed or delivered in person to either the county board of elections office. Only the voter or the voter’s near relative or county board of elections MAT team member may take possession of the absentee ballot for purposes of returning the ballot to the board of elections.  All in-person returned ballots will be logged in by the person returning the absentee ballot.

Military/Overseas Voters

Military/Overseas Voters (UOCAVA) can go to the Federal Voting Assistance Program website Opens in New Window  to access the proper form for requesting absentee voting materials. Requests are only good for one calendar year. Access the Federal Postcard Application form (PDF) here
Note that ballot requests are valid only for one calendar year.

One-Stop Absentee Voting (Early Voting)

One-Stop Absentee (Early) Voting is in-person voting and is available beginning the 3rd Thursday before and ending on the last Saturday at 3 pm before Election Day. Times are determined by the County Board of Elections and approved by the State Board of Elections before each election.      EMERGENCY PLAN ONE-STOP

IF CRAVEN COUNTY ISSUES OFFICE CLOSURES DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER, ETC. ONE-STOP SITES(S) WILL BE CLOSED AS WELL.   THE CRAVEN COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS WILL FOLLOW CRAVEN COUNTY CLOSURE SCHEDULES (CLOSURES AND DELAYS). 

November 8, 2022 - General Election

One-Stop Voting (Early-Voting)

STARTS THURSDAY, October 20, 2022 AND ENDS SATURDAY, November 5, 2022

Weekdays:   8 am until 7:30 pm

Saturday, Oct. 29 and Saturday, November 5:    8 am until 3 pm

LOCATIONS

Board of Elections  406 Craven St in New Bern

Vanceboro Fire Department

Cove City Fire Department

New Beginnings Ministry of Faith Church 30 Park Lane in Havelock