How and where to vote early and safely in Wake County during COVID-19
North Carolina’s first confirmed case of COVID-19 occurred on the same day as the 2020 primary election.
“We hit the ground running from that point on,” said Olivia McCall, deputy director for the Wake County Board of Elections. “We’ve been planning, preparing and working with state, local and federal partners figuring out .... what we were going to do for voters.”
Early Voting begins Thursday, Oct. 15, at 20 locations throughout Wake County. The general election will be held from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3. The COVID-19 safety and preventative measures are the same regardless of whether people vote early or wait until Election Day.
Hand sanitizer will be available at all the voting locations and election workers will be required to wear a mask while working. Voters will not undergo temperature checks, and those not wearing a mask will be offered one, McCall said.
“They don’t have to use ours, but if they don’t have one they would be offered a mask,” she said. “However, we will not deny any voter their right to vote if they choose to not wear a protective face mask.”
There will also be election workers dedicated to keeping people socially distanced and disinfecting voter booths. Despite initial concerns about the lack of poll workers due to COVID-19, Wake County has 2,800 workers planned for Election Day and 1,200 early voting workers.
“We will have election officials who are dedicated to nothing but disinfecting surfaces and voting booths,” McCall said. “So we want to make sure all of these contact points have been wiped down and disinfected. We want to keep those surfaces clean.”
“We are actually offering single-use ink pens,” she added. “Those will be available for each voter to help reduce those contact points as well.”
Voters will still get an “I voted” sticker.
Where, how to vote early
Early voting runs daily Oct. 15 through Oct. 31, from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays, and 1 to 6 p.m. Sundays.
Poll workers will be available to help with curbside voting for voters who have a physical disability or age-related issue, as well as those at a higher risk from COVID-19 or experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, McCall said.
There will not be an early voting location in downtown Raleigh or at Chavis Park this year. The Wake County Board of Elections office has moved from its downtown Raleigh location, and the park is being renovated.
People can find their closest early voting location and public transit near the early voting locations by visiting wakevotesearly.com.
Voters can cast their ballots early at:
- Abbott’s Creek Community Center, 9950 Durant Rd., Raleigh
- Apex Community Center, 53 Hunter St., Apex
- Avery Street Recreation Center, 125 Avery St., Garner
- Barwell Road Community Center, 5857 Barwell Park Drive, Raleigh
- Cary Senior Center, 120 Maury Odell Place, Cary
- Eastern Regional Center, 1002 Dogwood Drive, Zebulon
- Green Road Community Center, 4201 Green Road, Raleigh
- Herbert C. Young Community Center, 101 Wilkinson Ave., Cary
- Knightdale Recreation Center, 102 Lawson Ridge Road, Knightdale
- Lake Lynn Community Center, 7921 Ray Road, Raleigh
- Laurel Hills Community Center, 3808 Edwards Mill Road, Raleigh
- NCSU Talley Student Union, 2610 Cates Ave., Raleigh
- Northern Regional Center, 350 E. Holding Ave., Wake Forest
- Optimist Community Center, 5900 Whittier Drive, Raleigh
- Roberts Community Center, 1300 E. Martin St., Raleigh
- Wake County Commons Building, 4011 Carya Drive, Raleigh
- Wake Tech North Campus, 6600 Louisburg Road, Raleigh
- Wake Tech South Campus, 9101 Fayetteville Road, Raleigh
- W.E. Hunt Recreation Center, 301 Stinson Ave., Holly Springs
- W.O. Council Gym, 106 N. Ennis St., Fuquay-Varina
Voters will not be required to show a photo identification.
More than 300,000 people voted early during the 2016 general election. The longest lines tend to occur on the last few days of early voting, McCall said.
How to request an absentee ballot
Voters who want to avoid crowds or in-person voting must request an absentee ballot by 5 p.m. Oct. 27. The voter or a close relative who is helping the voter request a ballot must sign the form.
Ballot request forms can be found online at:
▪ Wake County elections office: www.wakegov.com/elections/info
▪ N.C. State Board of Elections: votebymail.ncsbe.gov
Return ballot request forms:
- In-person to the local elections office at 1200 N. New Hope Road, Raleigh,
- By mail to the Wake County Board of Elections, Attn: Absentee, PO Box 695, Raleigh, NC 27602
- Email them to absentee@wakegov.com
- Or fax them to 919-231-5737
In 2016, about 36,000 absentee by mail ballots were requested with about 29,000 returned. As of mid-day Oct. 9, there had been more than 200,000 absentee by mail ballots requested and 67,000 had already been turned in.
Early voting totals will be posted around 7:30 p.m. on Election Day, but it will likely take longer for the absentee by mail results to be posted due to the large volume, McCall said.
How to cast an absentee ballot
At least one witness must watch the voter fill out the ballot, and both the voter and the witness must sign the completed ballot.
Absentee ballots can be returned in person from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at the elections office at 1200 N. New Hope Road, Raleigh. Dropboxes are not allowed under state law and all hand-delivered ballots must be logged when delivered.
Absentee ballots will not be accepted at the polls on Election Day, but can still be returned to the Wake County Board of Elections office at 1200 N. New Hope Road, Raleigh. Ballots must be submitted in person by 5 p.m. Nov. 3.
However, absentee ballots also can be dropped off at any of the Early Voting sites during open hours or returned by mail. Mail-in ballots must be postmarked Nov. 3 and received at the local elections office by Nov. 6.
There are three ways to make sure your absentee ballot has been received:
▪ BallotTrax: Operated by the N.C. State Board of Elections at northcarolina.ballottrax.net/voter
▪ Voter search tool: Also available on the state elections website at vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup
▪ Contact your county board of elections at 919-404-4040
Who is on the ballot?
Wake County voters will choose candidates in a slew of local, state and federal elections this year.
At least two new faces on the Wake County Board of Commissioners are guaranteed. Jessica Holmes is seeking a higher statewide office and Greg Ford removed his name from the ballot after he announced he’d be moving to the West Coast.
Three Wake County commissioners — Matt Calabria, Susan Evans and James West — do not face any challengers. Commissioner candidates must live within the district they hope to live but are voted on county-wide.
Four Wake County school board members — Roxie Cash, Keith Sutton, Jim Martin and Christine Kushner — do not face any challengers.
People who live in Raleigh can vote on an $80 million affordable housing bond. It’s the only local bond on the ballot in Wake County.
Here are the competitive, local races:
Wake County Board of Commissioners
District 1 (one seat)
- Sig Hutchinson (D-Incumbent)
- Greg Jones (R)
District 3 (one seat)
- Maria Cervania (D)
- Steve Hale (R)
District 6 (one seat)
- Shinica Thomas (D)
- Karen Weathers (R)
District 7 (one seat)
- Vickie Adamson (D-Incumbent)
- Faruk Okcetin (R)
Wake County Board of Education
District 1 (one seat)
- Heather Scott (incumbent)
- Deborah Prickett
District 2 (one seat)
- Monika Johnson-Hostler (incumbent)
- Gregory Hahn
- Dorian Hamilton
District 7 (one seat)
- Chris Heagarty (incumbent)
- Rachel Mills
District 8 (one seat)
- Steve Bergstrom
- Lindsay Mahaffey (incumbent)
District 9 (one seat)
- Karen Carter
- Bill Fletcher (incumbent)
- Daniel Madding
Wake County Soil and Water Conservation District (one seat)
- M.C. Brock
- Jean-Luc Duvall
- Marshall Harvey (incumbent)
- Scott Lassiter
Wake County Register of Deeds
- Tammy Brunner (D)
- Charles Gilliam (R-incumbent)
Candidates for the state Senate and House of Representatives can be found at newsobserver.com/voter-guide
Related stories:
▪ For information on early voting in Durham County, see story here (The News & Observer) or here (The Herald-Sun).
▪ For information on early voting in Orange County, see story here (The News & Observer) or here (The Herald-Sun).
Correction: This story was corrected at 9:28 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14.
This story was originally published October 12, 2020 at 10:00 AM.
