An Overview of North Carolina’s 2024 Elections Calendar
The next big election year is finally here! North Carolina will be voting on numerous federal, state, and municipal offices, including the much talked about race for Governor and State Supreme Court. Whoever wins these important elections will set the stage for North Carolina policy for the next 4 - 8 years.
The Presidential election will be top of mind for many voters. Some journalists argue that North Carolina will be a central part of the national news coverage for 2024.
In this executive brief, we'll provide key dates, ballot insights, and a quick look at how to communicate this information to voters.
As you develop your funding and GOTV strategies for 2024, we hope this reference guide can take some work off your plate.
2024 Overview
North Carolina is gearing up for a significant electoral year with two big elections. From local offices to statewide positions, here's a concise breakdown of the elections you can anticipate:
March 5th Primaries (jump to section)
November 5th General Elections (jump to section)
At the end of the article, we outline helpful voter education strategies for 2024.
March 5th Primaries
North Carolina’s first big election will be March 5th, 2024. It involves all voters statewide.
Key dates:
Filing deadline: December 15th, 2023
Voter registration deadline: February 9th, 2024
Early voting window: February 15th - March 2nd, 2024
Ballot by mail request window: January 19th - February 27th, 2024 (returned by March 5 at 7:30pm)
Election Day: March 5th, 2024
Runoff: May 28th, 2024
Sources: NCSBE Upcoming Elections, NCSBE Calendar of Events
What’s on the ballot:
U.S. President
U.S. House of Representatives
Governor
Lieutenant Governor
Attorney General
Auditor
Commissioner of Insurance
Commissioner of Agriculture
Commissioner of Labor
Secretary of State
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Treasurer
Supreme Court Associate Justice (Seat 06)
Court of Appeals Judge (Seat 15)
State Senate
State House of Representatives
Superior Court Judge
District Court Judge
County Clerk of Superior Court
District Attorney (District 32)
County Board of Commissioners
Register of Deeds
County Board of Education
City Board of Education
City Council
Source: NCSBE Upcoming Elections, Candidate Detail List
Messaging & strategy considerations:
Since many voters are unfamiliar with primary elections, it’s imperative to always take the time to explain how primary elections work. Explain that primary elections are an important way to decide what the future of a party looks like. Similarly, voters may be unfamiliar that North Carolina holds closed primaries.
Although turnout is lower in primary elections, many voters still seek helpful information to help them navigate these big and complex elections. One of the best ways to establish a good rapport with voters is to concentrate on giving them relevant information. These highly-engaged voters usually make great volunteers for General Election work.
Prior to the general election, primary and municipal elections present an excellent chance to register voters and try out new field tactics. The Analyst Institute recommends primary elections as a great way to test messaging and strategies.
November 5th General Election
This is the big one!
Key dates:
Filing deadline: December 15th, 2023 (for primary election)
Voter registration deadline: October 11th, 2024
Early voting window: October 17th - November 2nd, 2024
Ballot by mail request window: September 6th - October 29th, 2024 (postmarked by November 5th)
Election Day: November 5th, 2024
Source: NCSBE Upcoming Election
What’s on the ballot:
Who is on the ballot depends largely on who wins in the March Primary Election.
U.S. President
U.S. House of Representatives
Governor
Lieutenant Governor
Attorney General
Secretary of State
Auditor
Treasurer
Commissioner of Insurance
Commissioner of Agriculture
Commissioner of Labor
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Supreme Court Associate Justice
Court of Appeals Judge
Superior Court Judge
District Court Judge
County Clerk of Superior Court
State Senate
State House of Representatives
District Attorney
County Register of Deeds
County Board of Education
County Board of Commissioners
County Board of Commissioners Chairman
City Council
City Mayor
City Alderman
Town Council
Town Mayor
Town Commissioner
Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor
Sanitary District Board Member
Source: NCSBE Upcoming Election, Candidate Detail List
Messaging & strategy considerations:
Although the field is not set, most sources anticipate a Biden/Trump match up at the top of the ticket. Recent polling shows this may pose a huge problem for voter apathy and turnout. Check out our article, which outlines strategies for using state and local elections to energize an apathetic voter base.
Helping voters navigate complexity
Elections are complicated. And if they’re complicated for people in the organizing world, they’re even more complicated for voters.
Here are some thorny areas that you’ll have to help voters navigate:
Voters need to know which districts they live in to understand who their candidates are. They might know their Congressional district, but they likely won’t know which Judicial Districts, State Legislative Districts, or County Precinct they live in.
Many voters will see over 20 offices and referendums on their ballot. Finding a way to summarize this information to encourage voter engagement and prevent ballot drop-off is key.
Voters may see over 50 candidates on their ballot. It’s important to help voters understand who these people are and who best aligns with their values. Amidst the new flood of misinformation online, that may be tough for voters to navigate.
The more of these confusion points that go unanswered, the less likely voters are to show up to vote (even if they are reminded about an election 10 times).
Personalized voter guides to improve GOTV outcomes
Voter education can be a thorny problem. Ballot Builder simplifies your voter education efforts.
Ballot Builder allows organizations to create personalized voter guides tailored to the specifics of each election. Utilize this tool to:
Generate voter guides that are personalized to voters based on their address.
Provide beginner-friendly, nonpartisan information on candidates and issues. This information is assembled by our team, which minimizes the lift for your team.
Allow you to build your base, by collecting emails and phone numbers and identifying highly-engaged voters.
Visit ballot-builder.com to explore how Ballot Builder can revolutionize your outreach strategies. We understand the unique challenges nonprofits face in the election space and are dedicated to making your efforts more impactful.
For further details on North Carolina elections, refer to the NCSBE website.