Elections
The Catawba County Board of Elections
is committed to efficiently conducting fair, honest, and impartial elections so that all qualified Catawba County citizens may exercise their right to vote.
The office conducts local elections, operates voting sites, maintains voter registration lists and handles numerous aspects of election administration. The Catawba County Board of Elections works in conjunction with the State Board of Elections office to ensure that elections are conducted lawfully and fairly.
Results of Hickory General Election
NCSBE Live Results Dashboard - results are official
November 8th, 2022 General Election
November 8, 2022 Candidates - 2022 General Election (Candidate Detail List)
2022 Offices up for election - List of available seats with incumbents
Candidate Campaign Information
Campaign Finance Reports - Select 2022 for the list of candidate committees for the 2022 elections (Primary, Municipal, and General).
2022 Absentee-by-Mail Ballot
Now accepting requests for November 2022 ballots
ONLINE Absentee RequestThis is the preferred method to request your absentee ballot.
Absentee Request Form - fillable PDF request form. Click here to print a BLANK request form to fill in by hand. [Instructions]
Track your ballot by signing up with BallotTrax: https://northcarolina.ballottrax.net/voter/
February 23, 2022 - NC Supreme Court approved NC House and Senate Maps and approved an interim US Congressional Map.
Catawba County - 10th US Congressional District | 2022 Interim (Click for Full PDF map) |
Catawba County - 45th NC Senate District | (Click for Full PDF map) |
Catawba County - NC House 89th & 96th Districts | (Click for Full PDF map) |
Maps updated 2-23-2022 |
2022 Jurisdiction Changes:
- Precincts 12-Kenworth, 4-Brookford, and 35-Sweetwater are now in the 96th NC House District.
- All of Catawba County is in the 10th US Congressional District.
One-Stop Dates and Times5 LOCATIONS
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Thursday – Friday | Oct 20-21 | 8am - 7:30pm |
Saturday | Oct 22 | 8am - 3pm |
Sunday | Oct 23 | 1pm - 5pm |
Monday – Friday | Oct 24-28 | 8am - 7:30pm |
Saturday | Oct 29 | 8am - 3pm |
Sunday | Oct 30 | 1pm - 5pm |
Monday – Friday | Oct 31 - Nov 4 | 8am - 7:30pm |
Saturday | Nov 5 | 8am - 3pm |
NOTES:
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Voter Registration
Check Your Registration verify registration information. Is your Name/Address corrrect? Is your party affiliation what you want?
Register to Vote* for new voters and anyone moving to a different county the NC DMV website is the preferred way to register
Update Registration* use for changes to: name, address, mailing address, party affiliation [the NC DMV Portal is the preferred way to make changes]
*If you are not a NC DMV customer or do not wish to register online, print and sign a Voter Registration Form [Spanish Version]
- 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
See VIDEO on Registering to Vote in NC
Green Party
Aug 1, 2022 - State Board Recognizes Green Party as NC Political Party
Voters previously registered as Green Party affiliates must re-register with the party or they may remain Unaffiliated.
Your Sample Ballot
November 2022 Sample Ballots should be available early- to mid-September.
To view your sample ballot, Check Your Registration and scroll down to Sample Ballot section. (see example below)
Partisan Election Candidate Filing | Non-Partisan Long View and Hickory Municipal Candidate Filing
- Filing Begins- Dec 6, 2021 but was suspended on Dec 8 by NC Supreme Court order No. 413P21
- Filing Resumes - resumed Feb 24, 8am and ended Friday, March 4, noon
- Ballot Name Order - after filing ended, the State Board of Elections randomly selected the letter "C" and a coin flip determined "alphabetical" to order candidates (by last name) on the ballot.
2022 Primary (including Hickory and Long View municipal elections)
- Mar 28 – Begin mailing Absentee ballots
- Apr 22 – Books Close. Voter’s last day to change party affiliation, and to register to vote on election day or by mail
- Apr 28 – One-Stop Early Voting Begins [Printable Schedule]
- May 10 – Last day to request and Absentee-by-Mail ballot (no ballots will be mailed out after this date)
- May 14 – One-Stop Early Voting Ends
- May 17 – 2022 Primary Election (includes Long ViewGeneral Election and Hickory Primary Election)
- May 27 – Canvass
Voter Registration Allowed
May 27 - 5pm, July 1 – Voters are allowed to register. Party changes are NOT allowed for currently registered voters.
NOTE:
On March 17, 2022, the Governor signed into law HB 243, the budget technical corrections bill. For election purposes (see bill text here pages 43-45), the bill does two things:
- Sets the date of the 2022 second primary or any second municipal election as July 26
- Opens voter registration between the first primary and second primary. Party changes are not allowed during this window.
Non-Partisan Candidate Filing
- Catawba County School Board (4 Seats) [only for residents in the County School District]
SCHOOL FILING PERIOD - noon, Monday, Jun 6, 2022 to noon, Friday, Jul 1, 2022
- Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisors (2 Seats)
SOIL AND WATER FILING PERIOD - noon, Monday, Jun 13, 2022 to noon, Friday, Jul 1, 2022
Second Primary (Hickory Municipal General Election)
- Jul 7 – One-Stop Early Voting Begins
- Jul 23 – One-Stop Early Voting Ends
- Jul 26 – City of Hickory General Election Day
- Aug 5 – Canvass
2022 General Election
- Oct 14 – Books Close. Voter’s last day to register to vote on election day or by mail
- Oct 20 – One-Stop Early Voting Begins
- Nov 1 – Last day to request and Absentee-by-Mail ballot (no ballots will be mailed out after this date)
- Nov 5 – One-Stop Early Voting Ends
- Nov 8 – Election Day
- Nov 18 – Canvass
All dates and times are subject to change
Municipal Candidate Filing
- Filing Begins - noon, July 7, 2023
- Filing Ends - noon, July 21, 2023
City School Board Filing
- Filing Begins - noon, August 18, 2023
- Newton-Conover School Filing Ends: noon, September 8, 2023
- Hickory City Schools Filing Ends: 5pm, September 8, 2023
Hickory Primary (if needed)
- One-Stop: Thursday, September 21, 2023 - 3pm, Saturday, October 7, 2023
- Election Day: Tuesday, October 10, 2023
Municipal Elections
- One-Stop: Thursday, October 19, 2023 - 3pm, Saturday, Novemer 4, 2023
- Election Day: Tuesday, November 7, 2023
All dates and times are subject to change
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.
Update on Photo IDCurrently, photo ID is not required to vote in NC.
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Signs are not allowed in Right-of-Way
until 30 days before voting begins
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 "one-stop" early voting and ending the 10th day after the primary or election day.
Note: a city ordinance may prohibit or regulate placement of political signs on streets within the corporate limits.
2022 Primary: First day in which signs may be placed in right-of-way is March 29th (One-Stop begins April 28th)
2022 Hickory General Election: First day in which signs may be placed in right-of-way is June 7th (One-Stop begins July 7th)
2022 General Election: First day in which signs may be placed in right-of-way is September 20th (One-Stop begins October 20th)
Signs must be placed in accordance with the following -- per NCGS §136-32(d):
- No sign shall be permitted in the right-of-way of a fully controlled access highway.
- No sign shall be closer than three feet from the edge of the pavement of the road.
- No sign shall obscure motorist visibility at an intersection.
- No sign shall be higher than 42 inches above the edge of the pavement of the road.
- No sign shall be larger than 864 square inches.
- 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.
Uniformed and Overseas Citizens
FVAP.gov | Voting assistance for Service members, their families and overseas citizens