Register to Vote

Voting in Franklin County

What are the registration rules?

In order to vote in Franklin County, you must:

• Be a United States citizen;
• Have lived in Franklin County for at least 30 days prior to Election Day;
• Be 18 years of age or older by Election Day, and;
• Not be serving a felony sentence, including probation, post-release supervision or parole.

What happens if you make a false statement on your voter registration?

• An individual can be charged with a federal felony for falsely claiming U.S. citizenship or making false statements on a voter registration application. Maximum penalties include six years in federal prison, a $350,000 fine, and a term of supervised release;
• An individual can be charged with a misdemeanor for unlawfully casting ballots. Maximum penalties include one-year imprisonment, a fine not to exceed $100,000, or both.

What do you need to do to register to vote?

• You'll have to check a box confirming that:
  • you are a U.S. citizen;
  • you will be at least 18 before you vote.
• You'll need to provide:
  • your legal first name, last name, and suffix (such as Sr. or Jr. if applicable);
  • date of birth;
  • Your N.C. driver’s license number/NCDMV ID number or, if you do not have one, the last four digits of your Social Security number;
  • Residential address, including street number, name, and unit number (if applicable), city, zip code, and county.
  • Mailing address, if you do not receive mail at your residential address.
  • Your signature and date attesting to your qualifications to vote.

If you do not have a required form of identification, you must check a box confirming that you do not have one.

What about "pre-registration" for teens?

If you're 16 or 17 years old, you may pre-register to vote. You must indicate on your voter registration application that you are at least 16 years old and understand that you must be 18 years old on or before Election Day to vote. You must meet all the other qualifications to vote. If you pre-register, you will automatically be registered to vote when you turn 18 years old.

Note: If you're 17 years old, you may vote in a primary election if you will be 18 at the time of the general election.

Voter forms may be found here.