What first-time voters in North Carolina need to know before heading to the polls

For people who have never voted before, the process might seem a little intimidating. WFDD’s Amy Diaz spoke with Caitlin Metzguer, the deputy director of the nonprofit organization You Can Vote, about the challenges first-time voters face and how they can be prepared for this election. 

Early voting and same-day registration ends on Saturday at 3 p.m. The general election is on Tuesday, Nov. 5. 

Interview Highlights

On what first-time voters need to know before voting:

"First up, I would encourage them to check their voter registration. Make sure you're on the rolls. If you're not, make your way to early voting as soon as possible, and utilize same-day registration. And then the other big thing I would encourage young people or new voters to look into is the down-ballot races. Everyone's talking about the presidential race, but in North Carolina, there are about two dozen other races on the ballot. We have a great tool on our website and you can get your full sample ballot as well as candidate information, and do that research ahead of time. And then I would say the third thing is that all voters are going to be asked for a photo identification this year. If you don't have one of the accepted IDs, you can still go vote and use that exception form."

On the barriers first-time voters face:

"So finding the closest early voting site sometimes can be a barrier, because not all the sites are on campus all the time. Another barrier might be utilizing same-day registration. Sometimes that's hard for young people, because when you go as a first-time voter in North Carolina, you'll have to provide some sort of documentation with your first name and last name and current address. So for anyone who is maybe a young person doesn't have bills in their name, maybe they live on campus and don't have a lease or a mortgage or anything like that. Maybe they don't have a pay stub yet. So sometimes just kind of navigating that process and making sure that you bring the right documentation with you. It's not so much of a barrier that it's insurmountable, but I do think having that education ahead of time, and just making your voting plan, making sure that you have all that laid out and all that's ready to go."

On registration for college students who have moved:

"So you have to be careful on that voter registration form, there's a section for residential address and a section for mailing address. Those are not always the same for young voters and for college students. Very often, people put their home address, you know, where their parents live, as their mailing address, because they're not checking the campus mailbox very much. So the residential address, there are particular ways to do that if you're living on campus. Again, our website is a great resource. We have sample guides for each campus. So if you're going to a really big school like UNC, every single dorm has a different address. So if you live in one dorm as a freshman, another dorm the next year, they do expect you to update your registration every year. So that's one little wrinkle that can cause some confusion."

On the voting process: 

"When you get inside a polling location, you will approach first the poll worker who asks your first name, last name and address. They will confirm what's in the voter registration rolls, and if you need to make that update, if the address has changed, they'll send you over to the help desk, and that's where you utilize that same-day registration process. All that is is just filling out a new voter registration form with your current address. Once you get your ballot, you walk over to that little station with a flat desk. There should be black pens available. Bubble in who you want to vote for. Voting is not a test. You are allowed to bring in your picks on either a sheet of paper or on your cell phone. And then you walk over to the tabulator, insert that ballot. You'll see the little number change because another ballot went in, and then they’ll hand you a sticker and you're done."

Amy Diaz covers education for WFDD in partnership with Report For America. You can follow her on Twitter at @amydiaze.