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.
WAYS TO VOTE IN THE NOVEMBER 2020 ELECTION | |
 | Absentee-by-Mail VotingComplete a 2020 STATE ABSENTEE BALLOT REQUEST FORM Your signed form may be returned via:
Send in your requests as soon as possible. Last day to request is Oct 27, 5pm. PRESS RELEASE 7-20-2020: Statement About Absentee Ballot Security in North Carolina |
 | One-Stop Voting: October 15 - October 31Weekdays: 8am-7:30pm, Saturdays: 8am-3pm, Sundays: 1pm-5pm [printable schedule] Any eligible Catawba County resident may vote at any of the five One-Stop Early Voting locations:
Residents who did not register to vote by Oct 9th may do so (and vote) only at a One-Stop location. |
 | Tuesday, November 3rd: polls open 6:30am - 7:30pmThere are 40 polling precincts in Catawba County. [printable list] Voters who were registered on or before October 9th, 2020 may vote only at |
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Interested in working the polls? | Requirements and Expectations of a Catawba County Election Official
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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.
[Current Catawba County deadline for all registration applications: 5pm, Oct 9, 2020]
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)
2020 Elections
Federal, State, Judicial, County, and County School Board Elections
| List of candidates on the November ballots. (Note: Presidential candidates will be added later.) | |
Choose the Election Year to view campaign finance documents for candidates |
Printable 2020 Elections Calendar
ABSENTEE MAIL-IN BALLOT REQUESTS
To request an absentee mail-in ballot, submit a completed Absentee Request Form to your county Board of Elections office.
The voter, or a near-relative, may make the request. The request must include the voter's valid NC Drivers License number, or last four digits of their social security number.
Requests for the November 2020 election may be sent in now. Ballots will begin mailing on September 4th, 2020.
If you are not registered in the county, you must also include a completed Voter Registration Form. This may be returned in the same envelope as the Ballot Request Form.
Faxed and Emailed forms are now acceptible (as of a June 12th law change); however, the image must show an actual signature.
- MAIL: Board of Elections, PO Box 132, Newton, NC 28658 (multiple requests may be enclosed in the same envelope)
- FAX: 828-464-9832
- EMAIL: elections@catawbacountync.gov
DEADLINE: Requests must be received in our office by 5pm, October 27th. Please do not wait to the last minute; we do not have control of the speed of the postal service after it leaves our office.
MILITARY AND OVERSEAS CITIZENS
Military and Overseas voters should request absentee ballots via fvap.gov—these cannot be requested by a near relative.
UOCAVA Notice - listing of ballot items expected to be on the Catawba County 11/03/2020 ballot for use by Uniformed and Overseas Citizens.
NOTICE: If you were sent an unsolicited pre-filled absentee ballot request form with partially printed information (such as your name and address), North Carolina law does not permit absentee request forms that contain pre-filled information. For more information on this law, see section (e) Invalid Types of Written Requests of NCGS § 163-230.2. Method of requesting absentee ballots. |
Frequently Asked Questions concerning Absentee Ballot Requests
Q: I submitted an absentee ballot request form but have changed the address where I want it to be sent. Can this be updated?
A: Yes. Call the Board of Elections office as soon as possible.
Q: I'm leaving town in a few days, can I pick up an absentee ballot from the BOE office and return it by mail?
A: No. By law, absentee-by-mail ballots must be mailed to you.
Q: May I request a ballot for my daughter? She's living away from home and can't print the request form.
A: Yes. A near-relative* or guardian may request an absentee ballot for their family member. In addition to the voter information, the near-relative includes their name address and relationship in section 2 of the form. The relative, instead of the voter, signs the form at the bottom right.
Q: May I, or another person, bring my voted ballot to the BOE office instead of mailing it?
A: Yes. The voter or the voter's near relative* may return a voted ballot to the Board of Elections office. The ballot may be returned any day during regular business hours; the deadline is no later then 5 PM on Eleciton Day.
Q: My father is in the hospital and unconscious. I know how he would want to vote and I am also his Power of Attorney (POA). May I complete his absentee ballot and sign it as his POA?
A: No. NC Election does not recognize Powers of Attorney. Voting for another person is a felony in North Carolina. NCGS § 163-275 Certain Act Declared Felonies.
*Near relative: spouse, brother, sister, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, mother-in-law, father-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, stepparent, or stepchild. NCGS § 163-231(b)(1)
More ballot request information may be found at the NC State Board of Elections Website: https://www.ncsbe.gov/Voting-Options/Absentee-Voting#ReturningVotedBallot
Five One-Stop Early Voting Locations are open for the November 3rd Presidential Election
Catawba County residents may vote at any of these locations during One-Stop early voting.
On election day (Nov 3rd), you are required to vote at your assigned polling location. Click here for information on voting on Election Day
- Catawba County Main Library – 115 West ‘C’ St, Newton
- Highland Recreation Center – 1451 8th St Dr NE, Hickory
- Southwest Branch Library – 2944 S Hwy 127, Hickory (Mountain View)
- Conover Station – 403 Conover Station SE, Conover (Bottom floor of library building)
- Sherrills Ford-Terrell Branch Library – 9154 Sherrills Ford Rd, Terrell
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION TIMELINE
- Absentee Request Forms may be submitted now
- Delivery Begins for Absentee-by-Mail Ballots - Friday, Sep 4, 2020
- Voter Registration Deadline ["Books Close"] - Friday, Oct 9, 2020, 5PM (hand-delivered or postmarked) [Voters must be registered by this date to vote on Election Day]
- One-Stop Early Voting Begins - Thursday, Oct 15, 2020 [Residents not registered to vote may do so and vote ONLY at a One-Stop location with proof of residency]
- Absentee-by-Mail Ballot Requests End - Tuesday, Oct 27, 2020, 5PM [the request must be in the office]
- One-Stop Early Voting Ends - Saturday, Oct 31, 2020, 3PM
- Presidential Election - Tuesday, Nov 3, 2020, 6:30AM - 7:30PM
- Sample Audit Count - Thursday, Nov 5, 2020, 9AM
- Canvass - Friday, Novm 13, 2020, 11AM
PRECINCT REASSIGNMENTS
Changes have been made March 2020 to the voting precincts of Catawba County listed below in order to reduce the size of large precincts and to lessen the distance residents must travel to a polling location.
| Precinct (click for map) | Description of Changes | # of Voters Reassigned |
|---|---|---|
| 13 - Greenmont | Now in Pct 26: properties between US 321 and Old Lenoir Rd from Tailored Industries north to the 321 bridge | 0 |
| 17 - Long View N | Now in Pct 26: properties north of Clement Blvd | 0 |
| 25 - North Newton | Added properties from Pct 40 on the odd-numbered side of St. Pauls Church Rd that were in Newton City limits | - |
| 26 - Oakland Heights | Added properties from Pcts 13 & 17 to bring Resurrection International Church (the polling location for Pct 26) into the Precinct 26 boundary | - |
| 29 - St Stephens 2 | Added properties from Pct 33 | - |
| 33 - Springs | Now in Pct 29: [Lake Hickory Country Club area] | 1,601 |
| 34 - Startown | Now in Pct 35: even-numbered properties along Sandy Ford Rd (and all roads and subdivisions north), Odd-numbered Startown Rd residents north of Sandy Ford Rd | 483 |
| 35 - Sweetwater | Added properties from Pcts 34 and 40 | - |
| 40 - West Newton | Now in Pct 35: even-numbered properties along Settlemyre Bridge Rd (from the bridge to Startown Rd), Startown Rd residents north of Settlemyre Bridge Rd, all areas north including properties accessed via Valleyview Drive, and the Fairgrove Ch Rd area south of US 70 | 58 |
Voters affected by the changes were mailed voter registration cards on Friday, April 17, 2020. If voting on Election Day (Nov 3, 2020), registered voters are required to vote at their assigned polling location. If voting early, Catawba County voters may continue to choose to any of the open One-Stop Early Voting locations in the county.
Residents living at properties described above have been reassigned to different precincts in order to reduce the number of voters at their previous polling location and to lessen their drive to their election-day polling site.
- Precinct 33-Springs had over 6,000 voters; 1,601 are now in Pct 29 and live closer to their new election-day polling location. 33's voting population is down to 4,321 (Sherrill's Ford Pct 31 now holds the top spot with 4,561 voters).
- Residents living in the northern areas of Pcts 40-W Newton and 34-Startown have been combined into Pct 29-Sweetwater; their polling location is now closer.
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.
Important Update on Photo ID
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Frequently Used Forms
Voter Registration Form NEW voters to the county UPDATES may be Emailed or Faxed Deadline: 5pm, Oct 9, 2020 | NCDMV customers may Deadline: 5pm, Oct 9, 2020 For new voters or Applications submitted after | Absentee-by-Mail Request Form Mail: PO Box 132, Newton, NC 28658 Email: elections@catawbacountync.gov Fax: 828-464-9832 Deadline: 5pm, Oct 27, 2020 |