Lines form at polling sites as early voting begins for the May 17 primary

Early voting for the May 17 primary election goes from April 28 through May 14.

Posted 8:00 a.m. Apr 28, 2022 — Updated 5:35 p.m. Apr 28, 2022

Mark Bergin

, WRAL senior multiplatform producer

Early voting begins Thursday for the state's May 17 primary elections — when voters across the state will pick party candidates for an open U.S. Senate seat, new U.S. House districts, plus seats in state and local races.

Early voting continues through 3 p.m. on May 14.

Voters can cast a ballot at any voting site in their county and register to vote in person at the same polling place. Curbside voting will be open for those who qualify, and photo identification is not required to vote.

If you plan to register to vote during the early voting period, you will need to show proof of where you live with a driver’s license, current utility bill or paycheck.

“Voters are telling us they’re excited to return to the polls in person and early voting gives them options to find a time or location that’s convenient for them to participate in the election,” Wake County Board of Elections Director Gary Sims said. “And if residents missed the voter registration deadline, they can even register to vote or update their address at the same time they cast their ballot.”

Voters across the state can find early voting locations on the North Carolina State Board of Elections website.

There are eight early-voting sites in Wake County. Registered voters can go to any of the following locations to cast an early ballot in the May 17 primary:

Cary Senior Center

120 Maury Odell Pl., Cary, 27513

Herbert C. Young Community Center

101 Wilkinson Ave., Cary, 27513

Wake County Northern Regional Center

350 E. Holding Ave., Wake Forest, 27587

Thomas G. Crowder Woodland Center

5611 Jaguar Park Dr., Raleigh, 27606

John Chavis Memorial Park Community Center

505 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd., Raleigh, 27601

Optimist Park Community Center

5900 Whittier Dr., Raleigh, 27609

Wake County Board of Elections Office

1200 N. New Hope Rd., Raleigh, 27610

W.O. Council Gym *NEW LOCATION*

106 N. Ennis St., Fuquay-Varina, 27526

Here are the hours of the Wake voting locations:

Weekdays: 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Saturdays: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Sundays: 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Find early voting locations

To help you get prepared, check out the WRAL Voter Guide, where you can check your voter registration, find where to vote, when to vote, whether you choose to vote by mail, early and in-person or on Election Day.

The guide also includes profiles of the candidates on your ballot, based on your home address.

WRAL News asked hundreds of candidates questions about inflation, abortion, election laws and the partisan divide in the country. Readers can see what the candidates said in their own words, compare candidates side by side, and then print their choices to take to the polling place. The guide also allows users to get a reminder for the time and place of their vote.

There were lines at some polls on Thursday. To demonstrate the importance of voting, a crowd of students marched the half-mile from Shaw University to the Chavis Community Center polling place to cast their vote.

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