Absentee Ballot Deadlines in North Carolina: When to Request and When to Return

In Pitt County, your completed and signed absentee ballot request form has to be returned to the county board of elections by 5 p.m. on the second Tuesday before the election. If you’re helping someone vote from jail or supporting a family member on the outside, treat that deadline as the hard stop - if the board doesn’t have the request form by then, they can’t issue the absentee ballot off that request.

Because the cutoff is the second Tuesday before Election Day at 5 p.m., you’ll want to start the request process well before that week - especially if you’re mailing the form. The request form has to be completed and signed, and it needs to physically get to the Pitt County Board of Elections by the deadline, not just be “sent” by then.

• ✓ Fill out the absentee ballot request form early, and double-check every section before you send it.
• ✓ Make sure the form is signed (use a pen).
• ✓ Return the form by mail with enough time for delivery, or plan to drop it off in person.
• ✓ Don’t send the request form by email or fax - it won’t count.

Plan on doing separate paperwork for each person and each election. North Carolina’s absentee ballot request form only covers one voter per form, and it’s only good for one election at a time. So if you’re helping two family members, you’ll need two forms. If you’re trying to cover multiple elections, you’ll submit a separate request for each election.

If you’re not sure the request made it to the county in time, call the Pitt County Board of Elections and ask them to confirm receipt. The mailing address listed is PO BOX 56, Greenville, NC 27835, and the phone number is 252-902-3300.

1. Check when you sent or dropped off the form - look at your mail receipt, tracking, or the date you delivered it.
2. Call the Pitt County Board of Elections (252-902-3300) - ask whether the absentee request form has been received and processed.
3. If it isn’t received, act before the deadline - get a completed, signed form returned by mail or in person by 5 p.m. on the second Tuesday before the election.