[State Board of Elections] In-person Early Voting Begins This Week for November Municipal Elections | Eastern NC Now

Press Release:

    Raleigh, N.C.     For voters in 380 North Carolina municipalities, in-person early voting for the November 2025 municipal elections begins Thursday, October 16, and ends at 3 p.m. Saturday, November 1.

    Statewide, 447 cities, towns, and villages in 88 counties are conducting elections this November. Of these, 67 municipalities choose not to use early and absentee voting. In those municipalities, voters cast their ballots only on Election Day, which is Tuesday, November 4.

    Voters in many municipalities will select mayors and members of their local governing bodies. In some areas, voters will choose water and sewer or sanitary district commissioners or board of education members. Additionally, several towns have referenda on the ballot. [See statewide referenda list (PDF)]

    The 2025 Municipal Elections Map on the Upcoming Election webpage and the Local Voter Tool include detailed information on elections being held this year.

    Voters must live and be registered to vote in a municipality to vote in its elections. Voters can find out if they're eligible to vote in 2025 by going to the State Board's Voter Search tool, available at ncsbe.gov, and looking for their sample ballot. If they don't have a sample ballot attached to their voter record, they are not eligible to vote in any contests in November. [Note that the cities of New Bern, Henderson, and Rocky Mount have runoff elections, and a sample ballot may not be attached to the record for a voter in those municipalities until ballots are finalized after the county canvass on October 14.]

    Early voting sites and schedules are available at the State Board of Elections' Early Voting Site Search and at Early Voting Sites for the Nov. 4, 2025 Municipal Elections. Statewide, 144 early voting sites will be open for the November elections.

    During the early voting period, eligible individuals who are not registered to vote may register and vote at the same time at an early voting site in their county. For more information, see Register in Person During Early Voting.

    "Municipal elections are a huge undertaking across North Carolina. We appreciate the hard work of our county officials and poll workers in administering these important elections," said Sam Hayes, executive director of the N.C. State Board of Elections. "Municipal elections represent another opportunity for voters to make their voices heard in choosing their government leaders."

    Absentee Voting

    Absentee voting has begun in the municipalities that allow it. Eligible, registered voters may request a ballot online through the NC Absentee Ballot Portal or on paper using the 2025 NC Absentee Ballot Request Form (PDF) through 5 p.m. Tuesday, October 21. For more information, see Vote By Mail.

    What's New in 2025?

    Earlier this year, the State Board launched the Registration Repair Project, a comprehensive effort to collect driver's license numbers or last four digits of Social Security numbers from registered voters who do not have one of these numbers in the voter registration database.

    Voters whose records lack required identification information and show up to vote will cast a provisional ballot and fill out a form with their N.C. driver's license/DMV ID number, or last four digits of their Social Security number. The county board of elections will meet after Election Day to determine whether the voter provided the required identification information for their provisional ballot to be counted.

    Voters can see if they are on the Registration Repair list at the Registration Repair Search Tool. Details on how to repair a registration are available at Registration Repair.


   Contact: Patrick Gannon
   Public Information Director
   Email: patrick.gannon@ncsbe.gov