Elections

Deadline for returning Absentee-by-mail Ballots

Absentee-by-mail ballots must be recieved in the Board of Elections office by 7:30pm Election Day in order to be counted.

Photo ID is required for voting

• For more information: https://www.ncsbe.gov/Voter-ID
• Any NC resident 17 or older may get a DMV non-driver identification card for free. (Don't be confused by the $14 nonoperator ID card on the DMV website. The No-Fee ID needed for voting is free and you don't have to explain to them it is for voting purposes.) If you have a NC Drivers License, you do not need the non-driver ID to vote--an unexpired NCDL will be sufficient. More info on State Board website.
• Voter Photo ID Cards are available to registered voters at the Board of Elections office.
• View NC State Board of Elections list of 2025-2026 Student and Public Employee IDs Approved for Voting

Voter Eligibility for People Serving Felony Sentences

• Per order of the North Carolina Supreme Court in April 2023, North Carolinians convicted of felonies must complete their sentences – including any prison time and any period of probation, post-release supervision, or parole – before they regain their right to vote. Click here for more information from the State Board of Elections website.

County and Municipal School Boards in Catawba County are Partisan

• For more information see Session Law 2023-32 6/08/2023
• Newton-Conover Schools and Hickory Public Schools elections move to even-numbered years
• School Board seats originally expiring 2025 will serve an extra year until December 2026 board meeting
• Potential candidates wishing to make party changes must do so 90 days before the day of filing
• Unaffiliated Candidates may appear on the ballot by petition. The petition requires signatures of 4% of the registered voters in the district for which they are running. The deadline to submit names for the petition is by the Primary election of the year running for office. For more information: https://www.ncsbe.gov/candidates/petitions/unaffiliated-candidate-petitions

See VIDEO on Registering to Vote in NC

• Qualifications to register - Follow this link
• New voters and new residents to the county (if not using the DMV Portal) are required to submit a hard copy of an original signed Voter Registration Form.
  Mail signed registrations to: Board of Elections, PO Box 132, Newton, NC 28658
• Current registered voters may submit changes using the DMV Portal or by email, fax or mail. Printed forms must include image of actual signature (computer fonts are not acceptable).
• Felons - Latest updates for Registering as a Person in the Criminal Justice System

When registering as a voter (or updating your registration), you may choose to associate with one of the following political parties recognized by the State of North Carolina:

• See NC State Board of Elections for party affiliation choices: https://www.ncsbe.gov/registering/choosing-your-party-affiliation

Instead of choosing a party, you may become Unaffiliated (UNA). During a partisan primary, unaffiliated voters may vote by choosing one party's ballot from what is available for their jurisdiction. If there is a runoff election, the unaffiliated voter will be given the same party's ballot chosen in the primary.

Check Your Registration - Use this tool to check if you are registered. If any information needs changing, complete another voter registration form.

ONLINE REGISTRATION SERVICE

Online registration applications are available for NCDMV customers for free. This service is offered through a partnership between the NC Division of Motor Vehicles and the NC State Board of Elections​. ​

On this site, you will be able to:

• Register to vote (Note: if you move to a new county, you must re-register)
• Update physical address
• Update mailing address
• Update party affiliation

DEADLINE: Registration applications submitted less than 25 days before an election will not be processed until after the election.

Go To NCDMV online voter registration application

If you are not an NCDMV customer, you may:

• download and print a Voter Registration Form (PDF)
• pick up a pre-printed paper form at Public Libraries or at the Board of Elections office.

Catawba County residents may mail these to: Board of Elections, PO Box 132, Newton, NC 28658
(multiple registrations may be enclosed in the same envelope)

If you received a Voter Card (or other type of mail from us) for someone that does not live at that address, please write on the mailing: "NOT AT THIS ADDRESS," and put a line through the barcode if there is one below the address. Place back in your mailbox for the postal service to return to us.
No postage is necessary.

You may later receive another card from us for this person; please return it, also. Once we receive two returned voter cards, the voter's status will be either "denied" or "inactive" (if inactive, they will have to verbally verify their address if they come to vote). By law, in order for us to remove the voter from your address, we need their signature, or notification from another county or state that they have registered to vote elsewhere. A person may remove themselves by completing a Request to Cancel Voter Registration.

Is the person deceased? We need a signed Notice of Deceased Voter form completed by a near relative in order to remove their name.

Thank you for helping us keep the registration rolls accurate.

The General Assembly of North Carolina passed Senate Bill 315 in August of 2011 that permits campaign signs in the right-of-way. Signs are permitted during the period beginning on the 30th day before the beginning date of Early Voting and ending the 10th day after the primary or election day.

• NCGS §136-32. Regulation of signs.

Note: a city ordinance may prohibit or regulate placement of political signs on streets within the corporate limits.

First day in which signs may be placed in right-of-way:

• For Hickory Ward 5 Primary Candidates: August 19, 2025 (Early Voting begins September 18th)
• For 2025 Municipal Candidates: September 16, 2025 (Early Voting begins October 16th)
• For Candidates in the 2026 March Primary: January 13, 2026 (Early Voting begins February 12th)
• For 2026 November General Election: September 15, 2026 (Early Voting begins October 15th)

Sign Placement – The permittee must obtain the permission of any property owner of a residence, business, or religious institution fronting the right-of-way where a sign would be erected. Signs must be placed in accordance with the following -- per NCGS §136-32(d):

1. No sign shall be permitted in the right-of-way of a fully controlled access highway.
2. No sign shall be closer than three feet from the edge of the pavement of the road.
3. No sign shall obscure motorist visibility at an intersection.
4. No sign shall be higher than 42 inches above the edge of the pavement of the road.
5. No sign shall be larger than 864 square inches.
6. No sign shall obscure or replace another sign.

The N.C. Department of Transportation has the authority to remove any signs that violate these rules. If anyone else removes or vandalizes a sign, they could be subject to a Class 3 misdemeanor citation from law enforcement.

Determining the Right of Way

NC DOT Contact Information - Please direct all complaints to the local NCDOT County Maintenance Office. NCDOT's maintenance field employees assist in removing signs that are illegally placed within the state highway right-of-way. Citizens who do not want to use the online portal can call the main NCDOT number at 1-877-368-4968 (1-877-DOT-4YOU).