Register Voters
Don’t wait for election time to register people to vote!
At Democracy North Carolina, we look forward to the day when voter registration is a way of life – when every street fair, high school, library, citizen swearing-in ceremony and other public events all offer people a way to easily register to vote or update their information. In the meantime, we’re working hard to raise awareness about voter registration and to encourage people to make it a year-round activity, not just at election time. This section tells you how you or your group can help.
Now Is the Time!
Don’t wait for a major election year to register people to vote. Each year, hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians come of voting age or change their voting addresses – all creating a need for voter registration. Capturing these people year-round helps reduce pressure on local boards of elections and gives people plenty of time to educate themselves on both their voting rights and their voting options.
What You Can Do
Anyone can register voters – and many people do. There is no minimum age requirement to register others to vote. The one law you should keep in mind is this one: if a person hands you a completed voter registration form, and you accept it, you must turn that form into a Board of Elections at least 25 days before the next election and within 30 days of taking the form, regardless of the voter’s affiliation or background. This means that you must turn in all voter registration forms to the Board of Elections by a specific date each year for newly registered voters to be able to participate in that year’s Primary or General Election. After that 25-day cut-off date, you should encourage everyone interested in registering to vote to use the Same Day Registration & Voting option instead of filling out a form for you to turn in.
If you want to register voters, you can start by downloading our Voter Registration Guide. In addition, entering the following search term on an Internet search engine will provide you with a great deal of useful information: “conducting a voter registration drive” or you can visit one of the useful links listed at right. In addition, your local Board of Election (BOE) can supply you with registration forms in both English and Spanish.
You can also help 16 and 17 year olds use a new law to preregister to vote. The same law requires local boards of elections to conduct voter registration drives in high schools each year; you may want help your board of elections or a high school educate teenagers about the importance of registering to vote.
Affiliated With a Nonprofit?
If you are affiliated with a nonprofit subject to 501(c)3 regulations, there is an excellent on-line voter registration resource you can visit for guidance on permissible voter registration activities and ideas for conducting successful drives: visit http://www.nonprofitvote.org/.
Want to Work With Us?
If you or your organization would like to help Democracy North Carolina conduct nonpartisan voter registration, please call us at 1-888-687-8683 (1-888-OUR-VOTE) and ask us about our voter registration activities.
Know Your Local BOE
If you want to help register voters, one of the best resources to use is your local board of elections. They often have booklets that guide you through the process of registering others and can provide you with voter registration forms and instructions. Find your local Board of Elections here.
