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Residents can register and vote during early voting

COLUMBUS—Although a referendum was approved to require voter identification to vote in North Carolina, no voter identification will be required for the 2020 Primary election. 

Early voting begins Thursday and will continue through Feb. 29 at the Polk County Board of Elections Office. 

On Dec. 31, 2019, a federal district court blocked North Carolina’s voter photo identification requirement from taking effect. 

The injunction will remain in place until further order of the court, which means the Primary on March 3 will not require identification. 

And while the deadline to register to vote was over on Feb. 7, residents can still register to vote if they vote early. Early voting for both the primary and general election allows for people to register on the same day as they vote early. Registration cannot be done on Election Day, either for the primary on March 3 or the general election on Nov. 3. 

Deadlines to remember include February 25 at 5 p.m., which is the deadline to request an absentee ballot by mail and March 3 at 5 p.m. is the deadline to return absentee ballots to the county elections office. 

People can vote at the Polk County Board of Elections, located on the second floor of the Womack building in Columbus from 8 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturdays during the early voting period. 

Primary Election Day is Tuesday, March 3, when Polk County’s seven precincts will be open from 6:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. 

Sample ballots for each party as well as election information and absentee ballot request forms can be found on the board of elections website, at polknc.org. 

Voters will vote for the March 3 primary in their registered party and if registered unaffiliated, may choose to vote republican, democrat or libertarian. 

Voters will be picking candidates for the November election for each party, including federal and state races. There will be no local selections for this year’s primary for Polk County voters, as not enough candidates filed for Polk County Commissioner or the Register of Deeds. 

The selections include choosing a candidate for each party for U.S. President. 

The General Election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 3 and will include federal state and local elections.