Early Voting Starts Today

Starting today, North Carolinians can cast their ballots in the Democratic or Republican primary at early-voting sites across the state.

Thanks to a new state law, people who are not registered to vote can also register at early-voting sites — and then immediately cast a ballot.

Early voting is available from today, April 17, until May 3. The primary is on May 6.

More information on early voting in Forsyth County is available here, and a full list of Forsyth’s early-voting sites, and the dates they are open, is available here (PDF). Voters in other counties should check with their local board of elections.

Both the Obama and Clinton campaigns are launching intense efforts to take advantage of the early-voting period, especially the new provision that allows people to register during early voting. Previously, North Carolina law required people to register at least three weeks before an election.

In North Carolina, Democrats and Republicans must vote in their own party’s primary, but unaffiliated voters can choose which primary they want to vote in. Seventeen-year-olds may also vote in the primary if they will turn 18 by Nov. 4, the date of the 2008 general election.