INDY’s 2025 General Election Coverage

According to the North Carolina State Board of Elections, you must:

1. Be a U.S. citizen
2. Live in the county where you are registering, and have resided there for at least 30 days prior to Election Day
3. Be at least 18 years old, or will be by the date of the general election
4. Not be serving a felony sentence, including any period of probation, post-release supervision, or parole

North Carolina’s voter registration deadline is Oct. 10. You must register to vote by 5 p.m. to be eligible to vote on Election Day.

However, if you missed this deadline, “you may still be able to register and vote or make changes (except for party affiliation) to your voter registration and vote during the early voting period,” according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections. Early voting starts on Oct. 16 and ends Nov. 1.

You can find early voting sites and schedules in your county using the North Carolina State Board of Elections’ Early Voting Site Search.

All North Carolina voting locations will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 4. “Any voter in line at their assigned polling place at 7:30 p.m. will be able to vote,” according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections.

All North Carolina voters will be asked to show photo ID when voting, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections.

Voters unable to show a photo ID when voting are able to fill out an “ID Exception Form” that allows for three permitted exceptions:

1. The voter has a “reasonable impediment” to showing photo ID. This means that something is preventing the voter from showing ID. The voter must provide their reason by selecting at least one of 10 choices listed on the form.
2. The voter has a religious objection to being photographed.
3. The voter was a victim of a natural disaster within 100 days before Election Day that resulted in a disaster declaration by the President of the United States or the Governor of North Carolina.

Here is the NCSBE’s list of acceptable photo IDs that are either unexpired or expired for one year or less:

• North Carolina driver’s license
• State ID from the NCDMV (also called “non-operator ID”)
• Driver’s license or non-driver ID from another state, District of Columbia, or U.S. territory (only if voter registered in North Carolina within 90 days of the election)
• U.S. Passport or U.S. Passport card
• North Carolina voter photo ID card issued by a county board of elections
• College or university student ID approved by the State Board of Elections
• State or local government or charter school employee ID approved by the State Board of Elections

The NCSBE notes that any voter 65 years of age or older “may use an expired form of acceptable ID if the ID was unexpired on their 65th birthday.” In addition, the following photo IDs may be used regardless of expiration or issuance date:

• Military or veterans ID card (with photo) issued by the U.S. government
• Tribal enrollment card (with photo) issued by a tribe recognized by the State of North Carolina or the federal government
• ID card (with photo) issued by an agency of the U.S. government or the State of North Carolina for a public assistance program (Note: Although this is an acceptable form of ID under North Carolina law, the State Board is not aware of any such ID in circulation that contains a photo. All IDs for voting are required to have a photo.)