Hi all, hope everyone is well. Here is the voter guide for this year!

General Reminders and Updates:

• This election will be for Federal, State, County, and City of Raleigh seats!
• The election will be held on November 3rd. You MUST be in line by 7:30 p.m. to vote on election day.
• The deadline to register to vote is October 9th by 5pm! If you did not register to vote on time, you can register same-day during early voting! Early voting is from October 15th at 8am to October 31st at 3pm. You MUST provide proof of residency during early voting. Click here for further information.
• ABSENTEE BALLOTS must be received by election day at 7:30 p.m. Make sure you send these early to avoid snail mail craziness! The deadline for requesting an absentee ballot is the 20th at 5pm!
• Voting in North Carolina now requires a photo ID except in limited circumstances. Read the linked page for more information on acquiring a free ID or what to do if you do not have an ID while voting.

If you have questions on where to find information not listed in this guide, please shoot me a message and I'll try to help.

Table of Contents:

1. General Information on Elections in Wake County
2. How do I Register to Vote? Am I Eligible?
3. Voter Information
4. Upcoming Election Dates & Information
5. Safety
6. Candidates
7. Early Voting Locations
8. Voting Precincts and District Maps
9. Absentee By Mail Voting
10. I Don't Have a Car
11. Get Involved
12. Neighboring Counties
13. Extras

1. Click Here for General Information on Elections in Wake County  & Click Here for the North Carolina State Board of Elections Website.

• If you need to remember the website links on the fly, the easy to remember versions for Wake County are: www.readytovote.com and www.wakevotesearly.com !

2. How do I Register to Vote? Am I Eligible?

• Link to eligibility requirements
• Link to North Carolina State Board of Elections registration guide
• Voter registration applications submitted fewer than 25 days before an election will not be processed until after the election. You may still register to vote in person using same-day registration in your county during the early voting period.
• You can also register by mail to vote in North Carolina by printing a voter registration form, filling it out, and mailing it to your local election office. For Wake County this is located at: 1200 North New Hope Rd, Raleigh, NC, 27610. The listed mailing address is PO Box 695 Raleigh, NC, 27602. Contact information and hours can be found through the following link: https://vt.ncsbe.gov/BOEInfo/.
• The NC Voter Registration Form can be found here in English
• The NC Voter Registration Form can be found here in Spanish
• If these links do not work for you for whatever reason, google the following phrase: “eac.gov National Voter Registration” and it should one of the first few results.

If you missed the deadline for normal registration you can also register to vote in person at your polling place during early-voting.

The DMV is also using self-service registration kiosks!

3. Voter Information

Link: https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/

Description:

• Voter registration
• Polling place
• Address and party affiliation
• Sample ballot\*
• Voting jurisdiction
• Voter history
• Absentee ballot status

*Your sample ballot/voter registration lookup will usually list the specific people representing your districts. This significantly lowers the time and effort it takes to track down information.

The sample ballot location is located under the fourth section on the page. 

4. Upcoming Election Dates & Information

Election day is November 3rd! Early Voting is from October 15th to October 31st! 

• Upcoming Dates
• General Information

5. Safety

• ACLU - Federal Agents At The Polls (What To Do) (Traducción disponible)
• ACLU - Know Your Rights When Interacting With ICE
• Behavioral Conduct guide for Wake County Polls
• Link to North Carolina Board of Elections webpage on Election Security
• Link to North Carolina Board of Elections webpage on Voter Intimidation
• Link to North Carolina Board of Elections webpage on Monitors/Observers
• Link to North Carolina Board of Elections webpage on Legal Resources
• Link to North Carolina Board of Elections webpage on the North Carolina Constitution and North Carolina Election Laws

6. Candidates

• North Carolina State Board of Elections candidate list page
• Scroll to the bottom of this page for the Wake County version

7. Early Voting Sites

• Click Here For Wake Early Voting Resources. FAQ is at the bottom of this page
• Where is my early voting site?
• Bus Route Guide

8. Voting Precincts and District Maps

Click here to go to the Wake County maps page

Description:

• What congressional district am I in? NC?
• What other districts exist in Wake County?
• What is my county commissioner district?
• What is my school board district?

You can find specific names through your Voter ID page as well! See the Voter Information section.

9. Absentee by Mail Voting

• Wake County Info
• North Carolina Absentee Ballot Portal
• Absentee ballots MUST be received by 7:30 p.m. Election Day. Send them in EARLY to avoid mail craziness.  Absentee ballots MUST be requested by 5:00pm the second Tuesday before election day (October 20th)!

10. I Don't Have a Car

GoRaleigh and GoTriangle are no longer fare free, but I have included the routes below. You can also see fare information on their websites: 

• GoRaleigh Route Link
• GoTriangle Route Link
• Wake County Board of Elections Bus Route Guide 2026 (Early Voting) 
• I have not yet seen a guide for Election Day but I will keep an eye out!

11. Get Involved

• Click here to go to Wake County’s ‘Get Involved’ Link
  • Description: Want to get paid to get involved with your election? Or maybe just volunteer to get more people registered to vote? Click away.

12. Neighboring Counties

I have no idea what's happening in these counties, but here's their election pages! If you live here there's definitely information for you.

• Chatham County Elections Webpage Link
• Durham County Elections Webpage Link
• Franklin County Elections Webpage Link
• Granville County Elections Webpage Link
• Harnett County Elections Webpage Link
• Johnston County Elections Webpage Link
• Nash County Elections Webpage Link
• Orange County Elections Webpage Link

13. Extras

• Link to North Carolina Board of Elections webpage on Election Security
• Link to North Carolina Board of Elections webpage on Voter Intimidation
• Link to North Carolina Board of Elections webpage on Legal Resources
• Link to North Carolina Board of Elections webpage on the North Carolina Constitution and North Carolina Election Laws
• List of Federal, State, and Municipal Government Websites Relating To Elections (courtesy of Wake County)

The images above were taken from the slide deck of a presentation put on by Down Home NC, which has an extensive summary here, and you can sign the pledge to vote no here.

Don't let the wording fool you. These amendments aren't about you, they are about corporations (think Duke Energy, Data Centers, and outside corporate interests) and the 1%, and we don't need amendments to pass the same exact laws. As I stated in the title, once amendments are passed, they are extremely difficult to undo, whereas normal legislation can be changed as the need arises.

"If passed, these ballot measures would drastically reduce state and local government funds, which could cause layoffs of educators, firefighters, emergency services, and other public workers — especially when combined with huge federal budget cuts coming down from Congress. It could mean the end of food stamps and affordable healthcare programs – which could in turn shut down hospitals and grocery stores and further impact NC farmers."
- Down Home NC

What is more, the NC income tax rate is already scheduled to fall below 3.5% in 2027, and still more by 2036 (image 5). As such, the income tax amendment will not affect you in the foreseeable future, but it will eliminate the possibility of corporations ever paying more than 3.5%, and any new legislation that tried to move the corporate tax rate above 3.5% would be unconstitutional.

At the same time, the other amendment seeks to cap property tax increases by local governments, but the wording is vague at best and doesn't say what it actually means to do, allowing for any number of interpretations they could argue as "constitutional" once passed. Regardless, taken in tandem with the income tax amendment, the mere nature of the other amendment would be to squeeze local communities of funds. When taxes levied by the state are reduced, the burden falls to localities. When taxes levied by localities are reduced, the burden falls on YOUR community. Think higher sales tax, fines, fees, parking, etc. and hits to local infrastructure - schools, roads, buildings, sidewalks, parks and recreation, libraries, Medicaid AND SNAP, etc.

In wrapping up, I'll reiterate once more that lawmakers do not need amendments to the NC State Constitution to achieve any what the amendments would achieve. Laws could just as easily passed - laws that could be revisited and adjusted over time in efforts toward a fairer tax code. Again, they are trying to rob the middle and lower class for the benefit of the wealthy and corporations, and lock that structure in for decades.

Don't fall for it!! VOTE NO on both tax amendments, and while you are at it, vote no on the Voter ID amendment. In case you haven't noticed, NC already requires Voter ID in order to vote.