Election Day for the 2026 midterm election is Tuesday, Nov. 3, and voters have one final opportunity to cast their ballots.
For Cullowhee voters, the Election Day polling site will be Western Carolina University’s Health and Human Sciences Building. Polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Jackson County Board of Elections Director Amanda Allen said voters should prepare ahead of time by confirming their polling location, bringing an acceptable photo ID and understanding their options if they encounter problems.
“So, folks that are Election Day voters, they need to think ahead,” Allen said. “They need to be prepared.”
Voters also must have registered by the registration deadline to vote a regular ballot on Election Day.
Unlike early voting, Election Day voting requires voters to cast their ballots at their assigned home precinct. Voters can check their registration and polling location at the North Carolina State Board of Elections before heading out.
“The process is pretty much the same,” Allen said. “The big difference for Election Day is voters need to remember to go to their home precinct so they need to look up where they’re registered, they need to be registered, and they need to go to that site and vote.”
The most important thing to remember is to bring an acceptable photo ID. The Jackson County Board of Elections cannot issue voter photo IDs on Election Day.
If you do not have one, be prepared to ask election officials about your options, including voting provisionally when the circumstances are applicable. Provisional ballots may also be open to voters who encounter registration or other eligibility issues.
“They could vote provisionally, we would do some research as staff to see if we ever got a registration forum, if it got messed up, those kinds of things,” said Allen. “We would look to find any errors, but provisional is really the only option.”
Voters who received an absentee ballot by mail and want to return it in person must deliver it to the Jackson County Board of Elections office instead of an early voting site. The ballot must be returned before polls close at 7:30 p.m. on Election Day.
Voters should also be prepared for potential wait times and delays throughout the day as Election Day voter turnout may increase.
After polls close, election results are expected to begin coming in around 8 p.m.
Voters can follow results through the North Carolina State Board of Elections website, which provides results by county and contest as they are counted.
