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"No right is more precious…”    United States Supreme Court, 1964

The voting process traditionally brings to mind people standing in line, casting their votes on direct record electronic voting equipment. However, not everyone is able to vote in the traditional manner. Some people may expect to be out of town, or may be unable to make it to the polls due to illness or disability, or prefer to vote at a time more convenient for them.

Civilians

North Carolina law provides for absentee ballots so that registered voters may vote using alternative methods. The Pender County Board of Elections conducts absentee voting by two methods. One is by mail and the other is one-stop absentee voting. If you wish to vote absentee by mail, you must send a written request signed by the requestor. One-stop absentee voting is done at our office in person. Approximately, 19 days before an election, this process begins and ends on Saturday before the election at 1:00 PM. Please contact us with any questions regarding absentee voting. The phone number is (910) 259-1220.

Military

Also, North Carolina law provides for absentee voting for the military. Persons in armed forces, their spouses, civilians which are attached to and serving outside the United States with the armed forces, disabled war veterans in United States government hospitals, and members of the Peace Corp may register and vote by military absentee. There are two methods you may use to vote military absentee. The first one is the Federal Postcard Application form, which is specified in the The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act of 1986. The second method is to make and sign a written application that includes a request for absentee ballots in a specified statewide primary or general election, a statement of your political party affiliation for primaries, a statement of your membership in the armed forces of the United States or your membership in one of the other categories referred to above, a statement of the precinct or your address before entering the military or other qualifying service and the period of time you resided at that address, and a statement of the address to which the absentee ballots should be mailed.

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