CHARLOTTE, N.C. — North Carolina absentee ballots were mailed out to voters on Friday, Sept. 20. However, before voters fill it out, some people are wondering why there isn't a write-in option for many races.
There was also a big discussion about what could happen if Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson dropped out of the race for governor. Robinson chose to stay in the race despite reportedly facing pressure to end his campaign ahead of a CNN report on Thursday.
THE QUESTION
Can you write in candidates in any race for the 2024 general election in North Carolina?
THE ANSWER
You will only be able to write in for two races: president and the Mecklenburg County soil and water conservation district supervisor.
OUR SOURCES
WHAT WE FOUND
When looking at the sample ballot, there are only two races with an option to write in a candidate. U.S. president and the Mecklenburg County soil and water conservation district supervisor.
Why is this? Dickerson says there's a process potential candidates must complete to qualify.
"In North Carolina, to qualify as a write-in, you need to collect X amount of signatures," Dickerson said.
According to the North Carolina State Board of Elections, a voter who wishes to participate as a write-in candidate must collect their designated amount of signatures and turn in their petition 90 days before the election.
If a candidate meets the requirement, there will be a write-in option for the race they're entering. If no person qualifies as a write-in, the ballot won't include the option for that office. That includes North Carolina's gubernatorial election.
"So you won't see write-ins for governor, you won't see write-ins for Congressional races, so those are all the things you want to look at," Dickerson said.
Partisan races, like the U.S. president, are also different than write-ins for soil and water, which is a non-partisan race. Dickerson said write-ins for president require qualification of the write-ins, while soil and water don't. That means they will only count votes for qualified write-ins for president. However, any eligible registered voter who is written in would count.
Contact Meghan Bragg at mbragg@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.