Charlotte: NC Mail-Ballot Requests Due at 5 p.m. Tonight as Mecklenburg Early Voting Surges Nearly 70%
Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina: The deadline to request a mail ballot for North Carolina's 2026 midterm general election is 5 p.m. on Tuesday, October 20. Under State Board of Elections rules, a county board of elections must receive the signed request form by the deadline; mailing it that day is not enough, and requests by fax or email are not accepted. For military and overseas voters, the request deadline is 5 p.m. on November 2.
Early voting, meanwhile, is surging. According to an analysis of State Board of Elections data, 71,885 people had voted early in person in Mecklenburg County through October 19, up 69% from 42,458 at the same point in the 2022 midterms. As of the October 18 registration snapshot, about 6.4% of the county's registered voters had cast early ballots. In state Senate District 41, early voting over the first four days was up 81%, with about 5.1% of the district's registered voters having voted.
North Carolina's early voting period runs October 15-31, ending at 3 p.m. on October 31. Mecklenburg County has 25 early voting sites, open 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekdays, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Voters may use any early voting site in their county, register and vote on the same day during the period, and must show a photo ID.
This year's North Carolina ballot includes a U.S. Senate seat (Republican incumbent Thom Tillis is not seeking re-election; Democrat Roy Cooper and Republican Michael Whatley are among the candidates), 14 U.S. House seats, all 170 state legislative seats, one state Supreme Court seat and three statewide referenda. Election Day is November 3, with polls open 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Related: Federal Judge Upholds North Carolina Mail-Ballot Restrictions Through November Election
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 / Precisionviews（夏洛特上城区与美国银行体育场航拍）
