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Macon County - Board of Elections


    You may register to vote in Macon County if you are:

  • A citizen of the United States - and
  • A person 18* years of age or older - and
    * Exception: Seventeen-year-olds who will be 18
    by or on General Election Day may register to vote
    no earlier than 60 days nor later than 25 days prior to
    the Primary and vote in their party’s Primary Election.
    After the Primary Election, 17-year-olds who will be 18
    by or on General Election Day may register to vote, but
    may only vote in Primaries until they are 18 years of age.
  • A legal resident of Macon County and North Carolina for
    30 days by the date of the next election.
  • A person convicted of a felony may register if citizenship rights have been restored.
    You need to register to vote only if you:
  • are not registered to vote in this County - or
  • have been placed in an inactive registration file.
    You need to update your registration if you:
  • have moved within Macon County since you registered to vote - or
  • have changed your name - or
  • wish to change your party affiliation.

REGISTRATION DEADLINE: 25 DAYS BEFORE AN ELECTION

Party Affiliation

    When you register, you will be asked to declare your party affiliation. You may register in one of the following ways:
  • Democrat
  • Republican
  • Unaffiliated

During a partisan primary election, all voters are eligible to vote for candidates. Only voters who are at least 18 years old may vote in referendums or bond elections. Party affiliation determines the primary in which a voter is eligible to vote. A voter registered Unaffiliated is currently allowed to vote in the Democratic or Republican Primary. The individual party has the authority to permit Unaffiliated voters to vote in its primary.

IMPORTANT: CHANGE OF ADDRESS

If you have a change of address -
To vote without delay in any local, state or national primary or election, a person must file a change of address at least 25 days prior to election day.

Voter Information

You will be assigned to a voting precinct when you register to vote or change address. The Board of Elections will issue a "Voter Registration Card" to you which will list your voting place.

All voting places in Macon County are open from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. on Election Day.
Absentee Voting

Absentee voting is comprised of two methods by which registered voters may cast ballots other than the traditional method of appearing in person and casting a ballot on the day of the election. These methods are as follows:

  1. Absentee by Mail
  2. Absentee One-Stop In the office of the county board of elections.
The deadline for persons to register in order to be eligible to vote in the election is 5:00 p.m. on the twenty-fifth day before the election, if submitted in person.

If registering by mail, it must be postmarked at least 25 days before the election. A prospective voter must be registered to vote in the county in which he or she is attempting to vote.

For example, if a voter is registered and resides in County A, the voter may not vote at a site in County B.
Absentee Voting by Mail
Any registered voter is authorized to vote an Absentee ballot by mail
in any primary or election conducted by the county board of elections.

The VOTER or the voter’s NEAR RELATIVE* may send a signed written request to the county board of elections office beginning 50 days prior to election day. Written requests must be received in the office no later than the Tuesday before Election Day. NCGS 163-230.2 states that a written request for an absentee ballot by mail is valid only if it is written entirely by the requester personally, or is on a form generated by the county board of elections and signed by the requester.

Each request must be SIGNED by the VOTER or the voter’s NEAR RELATIVE*, and include the voter’s name and address as they appear on the registration records, and the address where the ballot is to be mailed. Include the voter’s date of birth, telephone number and if request is by the near relative, the near relative’s name, address and relationship to the absentee voter.

*A NEAR RELATIVE, as defined by law, is a spouse, brother, sister, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, mother-in-law, father-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, stepparent, stepchild, or verifiable legal guardian.

If the voter is qualified, a ballot will be mailed to the voter after the receipt of the written request. The voted ballot must be received in the County Board of Elections office by 5:00 p.m. on the day before the election in order to be counted.
Absentee One-Stop (No-Excuse)
 Absentee One-Stop voting has been available in county board of elections offices for years and permits qualified voters to vote absentee in person at the county board of elections. Since the November 2000 General Election, voting by Absentee One-Stop no longer required an excuse

Absentee one-stop voting begins the third Thursday before an election and continues until 1:00 p.m. on the last Saturday before that election.

One-Stop (No-Excuse) Voting Location:
Macon County Courthouse, 1st Floor (downstairs)
At the Polls on Election Day

At the voting place
 Upon entering the voting place, you must give your name and address to an election official at the Registration Table. If you are properly registered to vote, you will then sign your One-Stop Application then you will be directed to the Ballot Table where you will receive a ballot.

    How to mark the ballot
  • Take your ballot to a voting booth.
  • Use the marking pen provided.
  • To vote: fill in the oval beside your choice.
  • When you have finished voting, insert your ballot into the tabulator.
Ballot voting instructions
 To vote for all candidates of one party, (a straight ticket) in a General Election, complete the oval at the left of the party for whose candidates you wish to vote.

You may vote a split ticket in a General Election, by not completing the oval at the left of the party, but by completing the oval at the right of the name of each candidate for whom you wish to vote.

You may also vote a split ticket by completing the oval at the left of the party and then completing the oval at the left of the name of any candidate you choose of a different party. In any multi-seat race where a party oval is completed and you vote for candidates of another party, you must also complete the oval at the left of the name of any candidate you choose of the party for which you completed the party arrow to assure your vote will count.

(Instructions for voting in primary, municipal, or other elections may be found at the top of the ballot)

HOW TO REGISTER AND VOTE AT A ONE-STOP ABSENTEE SITE

A North Carolina resident who is qualified to vote but who misses the 25-day deadline for voter registration may register and vote at a One-Stop Site during the One-Stop Absentee Voting period. The One-Stop Voting period extends from 19 to 3 days before Election Day.

The process is sometimes referred to as “Same-Day Registration,” but it is important to recognize that it not permitted on Election Day itself.

To use this process, a citizen must (1) go to a One-Stop Voting Site in the county of residence during the One Stop Absentee Voting period, (2) fill out a voter registration application, and (3) provide proof of residency by showing the elections official an appropriate form of identification with the citizen’s current name and current address.  The new registrant may vote ONLY at a One-Stop Absentee Voting Site in the county of registration during One-Stop Absentee Voting period and not on Election Day.

Acceptable forms of identification include:

·        A North Carolina driver’s license with current address

·        A utility bill with name and current address

Ø      A telephone or mobile phone bill

Ø      An electric or gas bill

Ø      A cable television bill

Ø      A water or sewage bill

·        A document with name and current address from a local, state, or U.S. government agency, such as:

Ø      A passport

Ø      A government-issued photo ID

Ø      U.S. military ID

Ø      A license to hunt, fish, own a gun, etc.

Ø      A property or other tax bill

Ø      Automotive or vehicle registration

Ø      Certified documentation of naturalization

Ø      A public housing or Social Service Agency document

Ø      A check, invoice, or letter from a government agency

Ø      A birth certificate

·        A student photo ID along with a document from the school showing the student’s name and current address

·        A paycheck or paycheck stub from an employer or a W-2 statement

·        A bank statement or bank-issued credit card statement


If you cannot supply an acceptable form of identification for Proof-of-Residence, your registration application cannot be fully processed until the required information is provided.

Registered voters may also update their address and change vital information in an existing registration record at the One Stop Site, but they are not allowed to change their party affiliation during the One Stop Voting period that precedes a partisan primary.

Macon County 
Board of Elections 

5 West Main Street
Franklin, NC 28734
(828) 349-2034 tele
(828) 349-2557 fax
kbishop at maconnc.org
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