Deadline to request absentee ballot is Tuesday

RALEIGH — Voters have until 5 p.m. Tuesday to request an absentee ballot for the 2020 general election.

Locally, that means absentee ballot requests must be received by the Richmond County Board of Elections by that deadline. In order to vote by mail, you need to be registered vote prior to requesting a ballot.

“If you want to vote by mail, please request your ballot now,” said Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the State Board of Elections, in a statement. “But if you miss the request deadline, you can still vote early in person through October 31 or on Election Day, Nov. 3, at your assigned precinct.”

According to a press release from the State Board of Elections, the best way to request an absentee ballot by mail is through the online absentee ballot request portal, https://votebymail.ncsbe.gov/app/home.

As of 9:30 a.m. Monday, approximately 780,000 North Carolinians had cast their ballot by mail for the general election. That’s about four times more by-mail voters than 2016, according to the BOE.

Voters can submit a completed mail-in ballot three ways: Mail the ballot to the county board of elections, as long as the ballot is postmarked on or before Election Day; drop off the ballot at an early voting site; or drop off the ballot in person at the county board of elections office through 5 p.m. on Election Day,

As of 5 a.m. Monday, Richmond County’s total voter turnout was 39.34%, according to data provided by the BOE. A total of 11,488 ballots had been cast, including 10,043 one-stop ballots and 1,445 by-mail ballots.

As of Saturday, Richmond County has 29,165 registered voters. Of those voters, 13,871 are registered Democrats, 6,772 are Republicans, 104 are Libertarians, 27 are affiliated with the Constitution Party, nine are affiliated with the Green Party and 8,382 are unaffiliated.

There are three one-stop early voting sites in Richmond County: Browder Park, located at 1311 Rockingham Road in Rockingham; the Cooperative Extension Office, located at 123 Caroline St. in Rockingham; and First Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall, located at 200 Rice St. in Hamlet.

Early voting will continue through Oct. 31. The Cooperative Extension office will be open from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekdays through Oct. 30 and from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31. The other sites will be open from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. from Oct. 15 to Oct. 30, and from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31.