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Municipal elections will be held across North Carolina on Tuesday, Nov. 7, but some local voters have the opportunity to cast their ballot early if they choose to do so.

The One Stop early voting period opened on Thursday, Oct. 19 and will continue through Saturday, Nov. 4.

There are no municipal elections in Gates County this year, but several towns in Bertie, Hertford, and Northampton will elect candidates for mayor or town commissioner/council member.

Voters must live and be registered to vote in a municipality to vote in its election. To check if you are eligible to vote, visit the “Voter Search” at ncsbe.gov which is the website for the State Board of Elections. If you don’t have a sample ballot attached to your voter record, then you are not eligible for any contests in November.

In Bertie County, early voting is only open for residents of Windsor. Elections Director LaToya Peele explained that town officials decide whether or not they want to have early voting. Windsor votes can also be cast absentee by mail.

Those who wish to vote early can go to the county’s Board of Elections Office, located at 210 W. Watson Street, Windsor. They will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. every weekday through Nov. 3, and then open from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 4.

There are elections in all of Bertie’s municipalities this year: Askewville, Aulander, Colerain, Kelford, Lewiston-Woodville, Powellsville, Roxobel, and Windsor.

For more information, contact the Bertie County Board of Elections at 252-794-5306.

In Hertford County, residents of every municipality with an election this year are able to vote before Nov. 7.

Early voting will be held at the county’s Board of Elections Office, located at 418 Everett Street, Suite A, Ahoskie. They will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. every weekday through Nov. 3, and then open from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 4.

Hertford County municipalities with elections this year include Ahoskie, Cofield, Harrellsville, Murfreesboro, and Winton.

There is no municipal election in Como this year.

For more information, call the Hertford County Board of Elections at 252-358-7812.

In Northampton County, only residents of the Roanoke Rapids Sanitary District – which encompasses Gaston – can vote early for that race. All other voters for municipal elections will have to wait until Election Day.

Early voting will be held at the county’s Board of Elections Office, located at the J.W. Faison Administrative Building, 9495 NC Hwy 305, Jackson. They will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. every weekday through Nov. 3, and then open from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 4.

In addition to the Roanoke Rapids Sanitary District Board of Directors race, all municipalities in Northampton County will hold elections this year. Those towns include Conway, Garysburg, Gaston, Jackson, Lasker, Rich Square, Seaboard, Severn, and Woodland.

For more information, call the Northampton County Board of Elections at 252-534-5681.

This year, voters – regardless of whether they’re voting early or on Election Day – will be asked to show a photo ID. Voters who vote by mail should include a photocopy of an acceptable ID when they return their ballot.

According to the State Board of Elections, most voters will simply show their driver’s license. But other photos IDs are accepted as well, including a state ID from the NCDMV (a “non-operator ID”), a US passport, an NC voter photo ID issued by a county board of elections, a college or university student ID approved by the State Board of Elections, a state or local government or charter school employee ID approved by the State Board of Elections, military or veterans ID card (with photo), and tribal enrollment card (with photo).

Voters who are 65 years or older may use an expired form of acceptable ID if the ID was unexpired on their 65th birthday.

Anyone who does not have an acceptable form of ID can still get one, at no cost, from their county elections office before the end of the early voting period on Nov. 4.

If a voter does not have an ID, they can still vote a provisional ballot and fill out an ID Exception Form.

If a voter has an ID but forgets to bring it to their voting site, they can vote and then return to their county election office before the county canvass to show their ID to have their vote counted. The canvass occurs 10 days after Election Day.

More information about the new photo ID requirement is available at ncsbe.gov/voterID