North Carolina

Your rights at the polls guide

Your Rights Under Federal Law

  • All voters have the right not to be discriminated against on the basis of race, national origin, or disability.
  • All voters have the right to vote free of intimidation.
  • All voters who need assistance by reason of disability or inability to read and write in the language of the ballot may choose someone to assist them to vote, as long as the person is not an agent/representative of the voter’s employer or union.

Your Rights When You
Check-In To Vote

You can be challenged as to the following things:
  • Your identity (including age and citizenship status)
  • Your residency
  • Whether you are ineligible to vote as a result of being found guilty of a felony
  • Whether you have already voted in the election

If the challenge is sustained—meaning the judges of election agree with the challenge —you have the right to apply for and vote a challenged ballot.

Who Can Challenge My Vote?
  • You can only be challenged by someone who is also a registered voter in your county, or by the chief judge, judge, or assistant appointed under North Carolina law.
What Happens After a Challenge?
  • When you are challenged on Election Day, the chief judge and judges of election in your precinct will decide the challenge, and must do so prior to the close of polls on the day the challenge is made.
  • You may insist you are qualified to vote and try to prove your identity and residency by sworn testimony.
  • If the judges of election decide to agree with the challenge, you can apply to the chief judge for a “challenged ballot.” This ballot will count for any ballot items that you are eligible to vote for.

Q&A: Your rights inside the polling place

01. What can poll workers ask me?
Poll workers will ask you to provide an approved photo ID when voting in North Carolina. If you do not show an acceptable ID but meet one of the qualified exceptions to the photo ID requirement, you may complete a reasonable impediment form. If you do not qualify for an exception, you may vote a provisional ballot and return to the county board of elections office with a photo ID.
02. Who can I speak to if I am having any issues or problems with a poll worker?
Talk to another election official, such as a precinct judge or a one-stop site manager. If that does not resolve the issue, call Election Protection.
03. I notice some poll watchers are taking photographs inside the polling place. Is that allowed?
No, unless the voter and the chief judge of the precinct give permission. This also applies to curbside voting.
04. Who gets to decide who is inside the polling place?

North Carolina law allows the following people to be inside the polling place: election officials and people they assign as necessary to solve an urgent situation, observers appointed by statute, voters, a voter’s assistant, children in a voter’s care, and voters lodging a lawful challenge.

Poll watchers who are not observers appointed by statute are not allowed within the polling place or the surrounding buffer zone.

05. Who can I talk to if someone is trying to get in the way of me completing my ballot?
Talk to another election official, such as a precinct judge or a one-stop site manager. If that does not resolve the issue, call Election Protection.
06. What are my rights if I need help voting?
Voters are entitled to assistance. Any voter can have a near relative or legal guardian assist them at the polls or deliver an absentee ballot for them. If a voter has a disability that requires assistance to vote, the voter may bring any person of their choice to help them vote. The person providing assistance may not be a union representative or an employer.

Fair Elections Center and Campus Vote Project intend the information contained herein to be used only as a general guide. This document should not be used as a substitute for consultation with a licensed North Carolina legal professional. Updated August 2024. Contact Fair Elections Center at
info@fairelection.codpixels.com

If you have questions or are experiencing problems voting, call the Election Protection Hotline and speak with a volunteer to get help.
  • Call in English: 866-OUR-VOTE
  • CALL in Spanish: 888-VE-Y-VOTA
  • Call in Asian Languages: 888-API-VOTE
  • CALL in Arabic: 844-YALLA-US

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