FAQs • Rowan County • CivicEngage

What are provisional ballots?

Provisional voting is a mechanism by which a citizen is guaranteed the opportunity to cast a ballot in the event that such questions have been raised. In that case, the citizen is permitted to cast a provisional ballot, which is held aside pending research into the issue to be resolved. Findings are presented to the county board members, who make final determinations. Election results are not finalized until all provisional ballots that are eligible have been included in the total count.

Provisional voting is fail-safe voting. State law mandates that each person who presents to vote be given that opportunity, whether by regular or provisional ballot. In no circumstance will a voter be turned away.

To find out more about Provisional Voting visit the North Carolina State Board of Election webpage.

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Elections

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1. Where do I vote?: You will be assigned a voting place within the precinct where you live. A precinct will be assigned by our office when you register or change address and you will be notified by mail. You will receive a voter registration card if you are a new voter or have made changes. The voter card will indicate the name and location of your voting place. You may contact the Elections Office for the location of your voting place by calling 704-216-8140.

2. Am I eligible to vote?

You may register to vote in Rowan County if you are:

A citizen of the United States. If convicted of a felony in North Carolina, a person shall automatically have these citizenship rights restored upon the completion of his or her entire felony sentence, including probation and restitution. Registering is required.
A person 18 years of age or older
A legal resident of Rowan County for 30 days by the date of the next election. Rowan County as well as all of North Carolina has free, permanent and continuous voter registration. Once registered, you may change your voter registration information as often as necessary by completing the voter registration application/change form and returning it to the county Board of Elections office.

Download the NC Voter Registration Application (PDF).

3. What is an absentee ballot?: Generally speaking, absentee voting is comprised of 2 methods by which registered voters may cast ballots other than the traditional method of appearing in person and casting a ballot on the day of the election.

4. How do I vote absentee vote?

One method is Absentee by One-Stop/Early Voting. This method allows any registered voter to cast an absentee ballot in person on select days prior to Election Day. Unlike on Election Day, when registered voters can only vote at their specific precinct, one- stop voting allows registered voters to vote at any one-stop absentee voting site in the county. One-stop sites will have all the ballot styles for a given election at each site. When you present to vote at a one-stop site, you may change your name or address, if it needs to be updated.

A second method is requesting a mail-in absentee ballot. Any Rowan County registered voter who is qualified to vote in an election may request and receive a mail-in absentee ballot for any election in which absentee voting is allowed. No special circumstance or reason is needed to receive and vote a mail-in absentee ballot.

More Information

To find out more about Absentee Voting visit the North Carolina State Board of Election website or the Absentee Voting by Mail page.

5. What is curbside voting?: If you are unable to enter the voting place due to age or physical disability, you will be allowed to vote either in your vehicle or near the voting place. If an Election Official does not come out to you, have someone enter the voting place and inform the election officials of your desire to vote in this manner.

6. What are primaries and general elections?: In primaries in North Carolina, you vote only in the primary of the party with which you are affiliated. If you register unaffiliated you may be allowed to vote in a primary if a party allows unaffiliated voters to vote in their primary. (Both Democrat and Republican parties currently allow unaffiliated voters to participate in their primaries.) In a primary you nominate party candidates and in a general election you elect officials for the offices up for election.

7. What voting system does Rowan County use?: Rowan County uses the optical scan voting equipment in the precincts.

8. Where is the Board of Elections located?: View the Board of Elections page.

9. What are inactive voters?: Inactive voters are those voters who do not have a verifiable resident address, as we have had numerous mailings returned to our office marked undeliverable. It could also be that the voter has chosen not to vote in the last election.The "Inactive" voters, if eligible, are still allowed to vote but will need to change or confirm their address. We need to make sure we have voter assigned to the correct voting district and return the voter to active status.