Election season is upon us. Many questions are floating around about how to vote, where to vote, eligibility to vote and how to register.
Registering to vote is the first step. The deadline to register or update registration was 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11. Same-day in-person registration is available during the early-voting period starting Oct. 17 and runs through Nov. 2. Early voting locations are available during the voter period but will not be available on Election Day.
Early in-person voting is conducted electronically through the ExpressVote machines which mark a blank ballot. Once the ballot is marked it is inserted into a DS-200 machine which tabulates the votes. Election Day voting is conducted on paper with one ExpressVote machine available upon request for ADA assistance. Both ExpressVote ballots and paper ballots are counted by the DS-200 machine.
There are differnt ballot styles depending on which precinct you reside in. A ballot sample can be found at vt.ncsbe.gov.
Voters can cast their early voting ballots at the Haywood County Senior Resource Center, the Canton Public Library and the Clyde Town Hall. There are no assigned precincts during early voting so any Haywood voter can cast their ballots at any of the three locations from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. every weekday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Saturday.
Voter IDs are required to vote but in the case that you do not have a valid form of ID due to the destruction from Hurricane Helene exception forms are available.
Here is a list of all early voting locations:
| Polling Place Name | Address |
| Haywood County Senior Resource Center | 81 Elmwood Way, Waynesville, NC 28786 |
| Canton Public Library | 11 Pennsylvania Ave., Canton, NC 28716 |
| Clyde Town Hall | 8437 Carolina Blvd., Clyde, NC 28721 |
Each voter is assigned a precinct based on where the address they are registered to vote under. In Haywood County, there are 29 voting precincts each with an assigned polling location open on Nov. 5. To find your precinct visit vt.ncsbe.gov and use the Election Day polling place search.
The Beaverdam 1, Beaverdam 2, Big Creek, North Clyde and South Clyde polling locations have been relocated due to flooding from Hurricane Helene.
Here is an updated list of all precincts and voting locations with attached sample ballots:
| Precinct Name | Polling Place Name | Address |
| Allens Creek | Allens Creek Baptist Church | 549 Allens Creek Rd., Waynesville, NC 28789 |
| Big Creek | Jonathan Valley Fire Department | 87 Joe Carber Rd., Waynesville, NC 28785 |
| Beaverdam 1 | Canton Middle School – Old Gym | 60 Penland St., Canton, NC 28716 |
| Beaverdam 2 | North Canton Fire Department | 1685 N. Canton Rd., Canton, NC 28716 |
| Beaverdam 3 | Beaverdam Community Center | 1620 N. Canton Rd., Canton, NC 28716 |
| Beaverdam 4 | First United Methodist Church | 155 Newfound St., Canton, NC 28716 |
| Beaverdam 5 & 6 | Canton Public Library | 11 Pennsylvania Ave., Canton, NC 28716 |
| Beaverdam 7 | Meadowbrook Elementary Gym | 85 Morning Star Rd., Canton, NC 28716 |
| Cecil | Lake Logan-Cecil Fire Department | 4291 Lake Logan Rd., Canton, NC 28716 |
| North Clyde | Clyde Elemetary School Gym | 4182 Old Clyde Rd., Clyde, NC 28721 |
| South Clyde | Clyde Municipal Building (Town Hall) | 8437 Carolina Blvd., Clyde, NC 28721 |
| Crabtree | Crabtree-Iron Duff Fire Department | 99 Susie Noland Rd., Clyde, NC 28721 |
| East Fork | Cruso Fire Department | 13264 Cruso Rd., Canton, NC 28716 |
| Fines Creek 1 | Fines Creek Fire Department | 244 Fines Creek Rd., Clyde, NC 28721 |
| Fines Creek 2 | Panther Creek Voting House | 31 Dream Valley Dr., Clyde, NC 28721 |
| Hazelwood | Haywood Schools Conference Center | 112 Virginia Ave., Waynesville, NC 28786 |
| Iron Duff | Iron Duff Community House | 143 Tommy Boyd Rd., Waynesville, NC 28785 |
| Ivy Hill | Maggie Valley Town Hall | 3987 Soco Rd., Maggie Valley, NC 28751 |
| Jonathan Creek | Jonathan Creek Fire Department | 87 Joe Carver Rd., Waynesville, NC 28785 |
| Lake Junaluska | Junaluska Fire Department | 90 Old Clyde Rd., Waynesville, NC 28785 |
| Pigeon | Bethel Middle School Little Gym | 630 Sonoma Rd., Waynesville, NC 28786 |
| Center Pigeon | Center Pigeon Fire Department | 2412 Pisgah Dr., Canton, NC 28716 |
| Saunook | Saunook Fire Department | 2908 Old Balsam Rd., Waynesville, NC 28786 |
| Center Waynesville | Senior Citizens Building | 44 Boundary St., Waynesville, NC 28786 |
| East Waynesville | U.S. Department of Agriculture Service Center | 589 Racoon Rd., Waynesville, NC 28786 |
| South Waynesville 1 | Waynesville Public Library | 678 S. Haywood St., Waynesville, NC 28786 |
| South Waynesville 2 | Salvation Army Building – Lower Level | 290 Pigeon St., Waynesville, NC 28786 |
| West Waynesville | Waynesville Recreation Center | 550 Vance St., Waynesville, NC 28786 |
| White Oak | White Oak Community House | 6097 White Oak Rd., Waynesville, NC 28785 |
Absentee ballots were intended to be mailed out Friday, Sept. 6. Due to the request by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be removed from the NC ballot the mailing of absentee ballots were sent out Sept. 21.
These ballots are available upon request by voters. A request can be filled out online through the North Carolina Board of Elections website or a paper PDF can be printed, filled out and returned to the Haywood Board of Elections either in-person or by mail.
The ballots must be returned by 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 5 and cannot return the absentee ballot to a polling place on Election day.
Military or overseas voters can find more information at haywoodcountync.gov and at ncsbe.gov.
For any other questions visit ncsbe.gov.
