Want to vote in the 2022 midterm election? Get registered to vote in four simple steps

Midterm elections are swiftly approaching which means congressional hopefuls and municipal incumbents are gearing up for the upcoming 2022 election cycle.

On May 17, North Carolinians will finally have the chance to vote local and municipal officials into office through rescheduled elections, some of which have carried over from last year. The date also serves as the day statewide primaries for congressional elections take place.

However, before voters can participate in midterm elections, or any election for that matter, they must first be registered to do so. Here’s a step-by-step registration guide for Charlotte voters.

Review your eligibility

Before you head to the polls, it might be helpful to make sure you’re eligible to vote in Mecklenburg county. According to the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections, you must be a U.S. citizen, a resident of North Carolina and Mecklenburg County for more than 30 days, and 18 years of age or older.

If a voter is 17 years old during primaries but will be 18 years old by the time the general election rolls around, they are permitted to vote.

Individuals who are serving a sentence for a felony conviction are ineligible to vote. This includes individuals on probation or parole. Those who have been convicted of a felony and want to vote must have their citizenship rights restored before registering.

Update your information

Individuals who have had a change in address must re-register to vote with their new address in the county where they now reside. If you are new to Mecklenburg County then your registration must be mailed or hand-delivered to the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections.

Those who have moved within Mecklenburg County can update their address electronically or by completing a registration application or the back of their voter registration card submitting it to the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections. The application can be mailed, sent via email, submitted in-person or faxed.

Anyone within the county who needs to update their name or party affiliation can follow the same procedure as those who have had a change of address.

Register to vote in NC

If you’re a first-time voter you won’t have anything to update just yet, but you will need to fill out Mecklenburg County’s voter registration application. Once you’ve reviewed your eligibility and have filled out the application, you can mail your registration form to the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections.

Keep in mind that new voters must mail or hand-deliver their registration forms to the Board of Elections. Faxing and electronic delivery of registration forms are for change of address or name only.

Wait for your voter card

Once you’ve completed these steps, all there’s left to do is wait for your card in the mail. The county’s Board of Elections estimates the process of receiving an updated card to take approximately 3-4 weeks. The estimated wait time for a replacement card with no updates to information is about 10 days.

By comparison, waiting for a new voter card to arrive in the mail can take twice as long, ranging anywhere from 5-7 weeks.

The voter registration deadline for those wanting to vote in the local, municipal, and primary elections is Friday, April 22 at 5 p.m. All mailed forms should be postmarked on or before that date.

There is a five-day grace period for mail that is missing and forms with unclear postmarks. The deadline for hard copy forms that are submitted electronically is Wednesday, April 27.

This story was originally published March 8, 2022 at 12:51 PM.

Evan Santiago

The Charlotte Observer

Evan Santiago is a reporter for the Charlotte Observer writing for the publication’s Service Journalism Desk. He hails from New York City and is currently based in the Queen City where he works to help local readers navigate the challenges that come with daily life in the modern world.