Buncombe Officials Remind Residents to Register by Feb. 6

Buncombe County election officials are urging residents to register or update their voter registration by 5 p.m. today, Feb. 6, to be eligible to vote in North Carolina’s March 3 statewide primary. Officials emphasize that the deadline also applies to changes in party affiliation, a requirement state election authorities have highlighted.

State Board of Elections guidance notes that the regular registration deadline is 25 days before an election, and the board spelled out the party rule plainly: “February 6 is also the deadline for registered voters to change their party affiliation before the primary.” Voters who want to participate in the March 3 primary must meet that timeline to avoid complications at the polls.

Residents must meet basic eligibility rules to register: be a U.S. citizen, live at the listed residence for 30 days before the election, be at least 18 by the general election date, and not be serving a felony sentence, including probation, post-release supervision, or parole. The 30-day county residency requirement means that people registering at an early voting or one-stop site must have lived in their county for at least 30 days.

There are multiple ways to update registration, but each has limits. North Carolina driver’s license or NCDMV ID holders may update their address and party affiliation through the NCDMV online service, but that service does not allow name changes. Paper applications must be signed and mailed to a county board of elections so they are received or postmarked by Feb. 6. Some updates, including name, address within the county, and party affiliation, may be provided signed by fax or email to a county board of elections.

If voters miss today’s deadline, some counties permit registration or updates during the early voting period, but party affiliation cannot be changed once early voting begins. State-level early voting windows reported by local outlets run Feb. 12 through Feb. 28, with in-person early voting beginning Feb. 12 in counties that have released schedules.

Election officials warn of practical consequences for incomplete registrations. More than 70,000 North Carolinians remain on a list of voters whose registration is incomplete, a state Board of Elections figure cited by local media. Those who do not resolve incomplete registrations before voting could be required to cast provisional ballots, which trigger later review to determine whether the vote will count.

Buncombe officials and local media have provided practical instructions about how and where to register, including county board of elections offices. Neighboring county materials underline similar deadlines and resources: a Cumberland County release reiterated the Feb. 6, 5 p.m. deadline and the Feb. 12 - 28 early voting schedule and listed county contact points, including phone 910-438-4025 and the Cumberland Board of Elections office at Judge E. Maurice Braswell Courthouse, 117 Dick Street, Fayetteville. Wake County officials noted strong voter rolls; Wake County official McCall said, “We’re just over 840,000 registered voters here in Wake County.”

For Buncombe voters, the immediate step is clear: confirm registration status, finalize any party affiliation change by 5 p.m. today, or prepare to use early voting beginning Feb. 12 with the understanding that party changes will no longer be accepted then. Verifying registration status through the state voter lookup tool or your county Board of Elections will avoid provisional ballots and ensure your ballot counts on March 3.