Primary voting for North Carolina’s 2024 elections by absentee ballot has begun. County boards of elections started mailing absentee ballots this week to voters who submitted an absentee ballot request form for the primary, which will take place March 5.
With the new election laws and ongoing litigation, voters will need to keep track of many changes to the electoral process, which experts say could possibly lead to confusion.
“Making the decision of who will be the representative of both political parties, and other parties, for the general election is a critical component of our democratic republic,” said Michael Bitzer, a professor of politics and history at Catawba College. “We want the people (candidates running) to represent our interests, our policies, our values.”
This year, 22 offices are up for election including president, governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state and attorney general. Voters will also elect members of Congress and both houses of the Legislature.
Many counties have elections for boards of commissioners and boards of education, as well as various local offices. While most cities and town have elections in odd years, several in North Carolina have even-year elections that may include mayor and positions on the municipal governing board or council, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
Primary voting
Voters in the primary will be able to cast ballots to choose candidates who will appear on the general election ballot in the fall, or in some cases win outright if they are unopposed in November.
But experts who talked with Carolina Public Press said voting in the primary this year will also be important to help voters learn the mechanics of changes to the process ahead of the general election.
If you’re a Democrat, primary voting help determine who the Democrats are running for office and if you’re a Republican, primary voting will determine who the Republicans running for office are, said Steven Greene, a political science professor at North Carolina State University.
“In most democracies the voters do not get to choose their party’s candidates, the party organizations themselves do that,” Greene said. “It gives American citizens an even greater role and voice in their democracy.”
North Carolina has partially closed primary voting, which means that if you’re a registered Democrat or Republican in the primary, you’ll be limited to the ballot for a Democrat or a Republican, but if you’re an unaffiliated voter, you can vote an unaffiliated ballot or request any party’s ballot, said Jeff Loperfido, the interim chief counsel of voting rights at the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, a Durham-based nonprofit group.
Many unaffiliated voters don’t realize that, so they go into the polls and are handed the unaffiliated ballot which has no races on it, because so many of the races are partisan, Loperfido said.
While unaffiliated voters can request either ballot, they do have to pick one. In November, however, voters can pick any candidates they wish and don’t have to vote straight ticket or stick with the candidates they supported in the spring.
A key benefit of primary voting, according to Loperfido, is the opportunity to navigate the new changes to the voting process, issues with registration, finding your precinct, figuring out early voting sites and what is required to vote in the primary before the general election.
Primary election results can also be critical in determining who the ultimate winner may be in a general election, according to Bitzer.
“It’s a combination of picking who will be the combatants in November, but in so many elections also picking who the ultimate winner will be — which is decided in March or sometimes in May,” he said.
A disadvantage for some voters is that a primary election can be a “non-contest for the presidential nomination,” because Joe Biden is “pretty much the unchallenged incumbent,” Bitzer said. On the Republican side, if it becomes “almost inevitable” that Donald Trump will be the nominee, other candidates like former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley may drop out, according to him.
As a result some people may say they don’t need to worry about voting since it is already decided. However, other critical races remain, including open seat races that voters still need to have a say in and still need to cast their vote on, he said.
What you need to vote
Voters may find navigating voting confusing this year due the changes made to the electoral process by N.C. lawmakers.
The N.C. State Board of Elections has resources and guides online to help voters with the process and some of the new requirements:
Voters who choose to cast their ballot in the primary election can either vote early in person, vote in person on election day or vote by mail. For voters planning to vote on election day, they will need to figure out their polling location, which they can find online, here.
North Carolina voters who need to register to vote, must do so 25 days before election day, or by Feb. 9 for the March primary election, according to the Board.
Registrations can be processed online or in person at the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles or by mail. Voters who need to update their registrations can also do so online, if they are an existing NCDMV customer, or by mail. Voters can also find out if they are registered to vote, here.
One of the most significant changes to the primary election process is the voter ID requirement. Voters will be asked to show a valid photo ID when they go to cast their ballots. Most voters who have a valid driver’s license will need to show it, but those who don’t can show other acceptable IDs, such as a free photo ID from their county board of elections or a no-fee ID card from the NCDMV.
Other valid forms of photo IDs can be used for voting, such as a U.S. passport or U.S. passport card, driver’s license or non-driver ID from another state or U.S. territory, a college or university student ID approved by the Board or a state or local government charter school employee ID approved by the Board.
All voters will be allowed to vote with or without a photo ID, according to the Board. Voters who cannot provide a photo ID at the polls can vote by filling out an ID exception form with their provisional ballot. Certain exceptions are permitted for those who need to fill out the ID exception form. The form is also available to absentee-by-mail voters who cannot provide a photocopy of an acceptable ID with their ballots.
Difficulties with new election laws
New electoral changes may pose difficulties for some voters. The voter ID requirement, for instance, may pose the most significant difficulty for North Carolina voters during the 2024 primary election, according to Loperfido.
The new electoral changes are going to place “an incredible strain” on our election administration systems, he said.
Voters should also try to keep up with court decisions as the year plays out, Loperfido said. A court decision earlier this week blocked changes to same-day registration and early voting. Several other cases are also currently being litigated, both in regard to Senate Bill 747 and Senate Bill 749.
New changes get added to the state’s election administrative structure year after year, for reasons that don’t seem supported by facts, according to him.
“While the rolling back of these laws through litigation might add some additional confusion, I think the ultimate goal of those cases is voter access,” Loperfido said.
“The timing for passing these rules is also unfortunate because voters, election officials, voting rights organizations, everyone is going to be learning these new rules in real time and kind of having to muddle through it all.”
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