North Carolina held its primary on Mar. 5, Super Tuesday. Democratic candidate President Joe Biden won 87.3% (606,303) of the vote, earning him 113 delegates, and Republican candidate Former President Donald Trump won 73.9% (790,763) of the vote, earning him 62 delegates in their respective primaries. An additional 11 delegates were won by Nikki Haley, with Haley winning 23.3% (249,654) votes.
Following Super Tuesday, Haley dropped out of the race, leaving Trump as the only Republican candidate. Haley stated that “it is now up to Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not support him,” adding that “at its best, politics is about bringing people into your cause, not turning them away. And [the] conservative cause badly needs more people.” Trump has since surpassed the 1,215 delegates needed to receive the nomination, winning 1,686.
Biden also has won the needed amount of delegates to receive the Democratic nomination, meaning that the two major candidates in the upcoming presidential election will be Biden and Trump.
In North Carolina, there will be a second primary election on May 14, 2024, in which the Republican nominee for the lieutenant governor, the state auditor, and the U.S. House District 13 representative will take place, and on the county level, Gaston County Board of Commissioners will select the Republican nominee for the South Point Township District, and Orange County Schools Board of Education will select a nominee for its third seat. In order to vote in the second primary election, voters must have been registered to vote in the first primary election unless they only became eligible to vote between the first and second election. In-person voting begins Apr. 25, and absentee ballots are due by May 7 at 5 p.m.
North Carolina will hold its general election on Nov. 5. The voter registration deadline is Oct. 11, 2024. Voters must have completed their registration before that day by 5 p.m. in order to vote in the general election. The absentee ballot request deadline is Oct. 11 at 5 p.m. Absentee voting is a viable option for students who are unable to return home to vote in their home districts, and absentee ballots must be returned by 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 5 in order to be counted. In-person early voting will begin on Oct. 17, 2024, with the option of same-day voter registration, and will conclude at 3 p.m. on Nov. 2.
Voters can register online or in person through the DMV or by mail. To view registration information, click here. North Carolina voters are required to show a voter ID when checking in to vote. Free voter IDs can be obtained through the DMV as well. Registration can be checked online using Voter Search. Early voting sites and schedules can be checked here. To cast a ballot on Election Day, voters are required to go to a specific polling location, which can also be found on Voter Search. Absentee ballots can be requested online and must be submitted to the county board of elections in person or by mail.
There will be a number of other candidates for state and county offices on the ballot as well. Research regarding the offices and questions on their ballot may be beneficial in trying to select individuals who align best with the voter’s values. As the US and North Carolina head into another crucial election season, young voters will hold significant sway as many members of Generation Z are or have turned 18 since the 2020 election.
By Lola Mestas, Copy Editor
Graphic by Shae-Lynn Henderon, EIC