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Voting in the Primary Election? Here's what you need to know

Answering your questions about voter registration, mail-in ballots, polling sites and what your ballot will look like ahead of Primary Election Day on May 17.

GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. — We're counting down the days until Primary Election Day on May 17.

If you're planning to vote, there are some things you need to know before heading to the polls.

Saturday is the last day of early voting. The polls are open from 8:00 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

During early voting, you can vote at any of the early voting sites.

If you haven't registered to vote, you can still do that at any early voting site. You must be in-person to register and bring some proof of address like your driver's license or a utility bill.

"That little window that we’ve got to register to vote is going to end. You can only do that during early voting and it ends Saturday at 3:00 p.m. There’s no registration on Election Day," Charlie Collicutt, Guilford County Board of Elections Director, said.

Polls are closed Sunday and Monday.

Primary Election Day is Tuesday, May 17. Polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. You must go to your assigned polling place.

If you're unsure where your polling site is located, you can visit the State Board of Elections' website and click on the 'voting' tab.

If you're doing absentee voting, the deadline is quickly approaching. You can no longer request a mail-in ballot, but if you already have one, it must be postmarked on Primary Election Day, May 17.

Speaking of ballot, because this is a Primary Election, this will decide who will move on to November.

Collicutt said if you're a Democrat, you're only going to vote in the Democratic Primary. If you're a Republican, you'll only see Republicans on your ballot.

According to Collicutt, unaffiliated voters must make a choice.

"Those voters are going to get the option. They’re going to be asked and they can choose to vote in the Democratic primary or the Republican primary. Not a mixture, but one of the other," Collicutt said.

You can also find your sample ballot on the Board of Elections' website.

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