In just a matter of weeks, North Carolina election officials will begin mailing out absentee ballots on Sept. 4, and in less than two months, early voting will begin on Oct. 15.
For years, misinformation has spread about the validity of election results in the US. One of the people fueling these false remarks about election outcomes has been President Donald Trump.
As votes were still being counted on election night in 2020, Trump falsely claimed he had won. “Frankly, we did win this election,” he said.
Last month, Trump revived his false claim that the 2020 election was not secure in an address from the White House.
Prior to the 2024 election, the conservative Heritage Foundation compiled examples of voter fraud across the United States. Out of over 81 million votes cast in the prior 39 elections the Tar Heel State had conducted, there were 58 examples of voter fraud, which amounts to 0.0000710%.
For both in-person and mail voting, North Carolina has safeguards in place to ensure the voting process is safe and secure.
How ballots are protected
There has never been an example of one of North Carolina’s election systems being successfuly hacked. A few of the ways the state ensures election security include testing voting equipment and machines and keeping voting machines disconnected from the internet.
After each election, machines are checked for potential tampering or errors, and two precincts or voting groups are selected in each county for a count by hand to ensure machine totals are accurate.
In each county, local election staff are bipartisan, which means that potential recounts and audits are not conducted in a partisan manner.
Voting by mail is safe and secure
Anybody registered to vote in North Carolina can request an absentee ballot. In 2024, over 240,000 North Carolinians cast their ballots by mail.
To request an absentee ballot, you must do so either by written request or through an online portal.
People voting by mail must get two witnesses or a notary to verify their identity.
One false claim about voting by mail is that people can vote by mail and then vote in person in the same election. In North Carolina, once an absentee ballot is recorded, the person is marked as having voted in the election and cannot vote in person.
The identity of anyone who requests an absentee ballot is not revealed until Election Day, minimizing potential interference with their vote.
Are you registered to vote?
You can use our voter registration form below to check your registration status, re-register, or register for the first time:
