Get Ready For Early Voting

Karsh Alumni and Visitors Center is an early voting site for the general election

I Watched A Polling Site In Raleigh -- It’s Too Hard To Vote

Karsh Alumni and Visitors Center on Duke’s campus will serve as an early voting location in Durham County for the November 5 General Elections beginning Thursday, Oct. 17, through Saturday, Nov. 2.

During the early voting period, voters may cast their ballot at any polling location in the county where they are registered to vote. Karsh and other early voting polling locations in Durham will be open from 8 am-7:30 pm Mondays through Fridays, 8 am-5 pm on Saturdays, 2 pm-6 pm on Sundays, and 8 am-3 pm on the last Saturday of early voting (November 2). All other early voting polling locations in counties across North Carolina can be found here.

Karsh is a short walk from West Campus’ Abele Quad, and ample free parking is available for voters. Students, employees and residents who are registered to vote in Durham County are urged to use the on-campus early voting location. The address is 2080 Duke University Rd, Durham, NC 27708.

Student smiles a shows the thumbs-up sign, wearing a Durham, NC I Voted sticker. The Duke Votes logo is above the image and the url, wote.duke.edu, is below

If you miss the October 11th voter registration deadline, same-day voter registration is available during the early voting period at one-stop polling locations. If you register during the early voting period, you must provide proof of residence with your name and current address. This can include a North Carolina’s driver’s license, other photo ID issued by a government agency, a current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, or a government-issued document.

Duke students living on campus only need to show a physical DukeCard or Duke Student Voter ID Card as proof of residency. Duke students living off campus have the option of showing a Duke-issued document with their name and current address AND a physical DukeCard or Duke Student Voter ID Card, or any other of the aforementioned documents with their name and current address.

Voter ID

North Carolina voters are now required to provide photo identification when voting in-person or by absentee ballot. Acceptable forms of ID can include:

  • North Carolina driver’s license
  • State ID from the NCDMV for NC residents (also called “non-operator ID”)
  • Driver’s license or non-driver ID from another state, District of Columbia or U.S. territory (only if voter registered in North Carolina within 90 days of the election)
  • U.S. Passport or U.S. Passport card
  • North Carolina voter photo ID card issued by a county board of elections
  • College or university student ID approved by the State Board of Elections
  • State or local government or charter school employee ID approved by the State Board of Elections

The physical DukeCard and Duke Student Voter ID Card were approved by the State Board of Elections as a valid form of photo ID for students. The DukeCard Office is providing a card for free to any student who needs one. The mobile DukeCard has not been approved as a valid form of ID for voting. Additional information about receiving an approved Duke ID for voting can be found on the Duke Votes website.

Voting on Election Day

On Election Day, voters are assigned a polling location based on their residential address. Students living on East Campus will vote at Watts Elementary School, 700 Watts St., while West Campus residents can vote at Patterson Recreation Center, 2614 Crest St. Other Election Day polling locations can be found the State Board of Elections website.

Supervisors are encouraged to be flexible with scheduling to enable employees who are unable to vote outside normal work hours to do so before, during or after their assigned shifts. Duke University’s voting policy for employees can be found on the Duke Human Resources website.

Additional information on registering to vote, voting and voter ID requirements can be found on the NC Board of Elections website or the Duke Votes website.