CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It’s the last week to vote early in the City of Charlotte’s general election, which is on Tuesday, July 26.
There are 14 early voting locations across Charlotte that voters can pick from. When going early, voters can choose the location most convenient for them.
However, on election day, voters must go to the precinct they're assigned. Charlotte has 166 precincts. Voters can check what precinct they're assigned to online.
Candidates for Charlotte's mayor and city council are on the ballot, so only city residents can vote in this election. Voter Anita Shipman told WCNC Charlotte she participated in this election because "it all starts locally," so she wants to make sure her voice is heard.
The longtime Charlotte resident added that voting early on Monday was a breeze. There were, "no lines, no congestion, [and] multiple locations of options to go to.”
No photo identification is needed to vote early or on election day in any North Carolina election.
"You state your name, you state your address, and then you’re voting," director of the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections Michael Dickerson said. "It’s that simple."
To vote on election day, new voters must register at least 30 days prior. Same-day voter registration is allowed if someone goes to an early voting location, as long as that person has lived in Charlotte for at least 30 days before the election.
"You can go into an early voting site, fill out an application, show proof of who you are and your address, but you can go in and do all of that and vote at the same time," Dickerson explained.
When it comes to voter turnout, Dickerson said more and more people are coming to polling places as they get closer to election day. Over 15,000 Charlotte voters have cast their ballots as of July 18, including 1,101 mail-ins.
Dickerson expects to double their numbers before early voting concludes this Saturday, July 23. For comparison, he said about 28,000 Charlotteans voted early in the 2019 municipal election.
"We’re hoping to get a good number of people to show up early this rest of this week, and then we have 50-60,000 people we’ll deal with on election day,” Dickerson said.
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The city election was pushed back to July of this year due to delays in receiving population data from the U.S. Census. It’s an unusual time for voters to cast their ballots, but Dickerson said that polling places are doing well.
The hours to vote early are 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. until Friday, July 22, and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Election day is Tuesday, July 26 from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Contact Julia Kauffman at jkauffman@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.