We hope you had an enjoyable time over the holidays and, perhaps, had an opportunity to have productive conversations with others about the threats to our democracy posed by the current administration.

As we move forward into the 2026 midterms, there are several election-related actions we would like to address. This week, we focus on voter registration and important dates to add to your calendar. The recent military intervention in Venezuela, something most Americans have consistently opposed, clarifies the critical importance of each of our votes.

Your first and most important action is to double-check your voter registration. You can do this by going to the Board of Elections website

https://www.ncsbe.gov/registering/checking-your-registration

and click on the blue button: “Launch the Voter Search.” Enter your name and birth year to find a link to your registration information.  Make sure everything is correct.

Encourage your family, friends, and neighbors to do so as well. In August, the NC State Board of Elections sent letters to 82,000 registered voters in the state who had incomplete information, such as a missing driver’s license number and/or no last four digits of the voter’s Social Security number. Of these, over 1,500 were listed as Catawba County, 700 plus in Burke County, and about 150 each in Alexander and Caldwell Counties.

While we would expect that most of our members are correctly registered, it is still good practice to check and be sure nothing has changed. Have you moved since the last election?  The correct address is important in determining where you vote.

Please feel free to notify the Legislative Committee if you have difficulty verifying your registration or want to identify other voter registration concerns, so that we can share this information with the ICCV membership.

Here are some important dates for your calendar:

VOTER REGISTRATION DEADLINE: February 6, 2026 @ 5:00 PM

Even if you have checked and know that you are correctly registered, please talk to your eligible friends, neighbors, and family to ensure that they are registered as well.

IN-PERSON EARLY VOTING BEGINS: February 12, 2026

Candidate information will be available soon. Sample ballots also may be found at the State Board of Elections website provided above.

ABSENTEE BALLOT REQUEST DEADLINE: February 17, 2026 @ 5:00 PM

IN-PERSON EARLY VOTING ENDS: February 28, 2026 @ 3:00 PM

PRIMARY ELECTION DAY: March 3, 2026

ABSENTEE BALLOT RETURN DEADLINE: March 3, 2026 @ 7:30 PM

*** Important note about mail-in ballots: The USPS has changed their postmark process. Items are not postmarked on the date they were placed in the box, but on the date they are processed by the sorting facility. So be sure to send mail-in ballots extra early. Alternatively, you can take your mail-in ballot into the post office and request a hand postmark.

Congress is scheduled to return to Washington this week. We will be closely watching those proceedings. The North Carolina General Assembly is not due back until Monday 1/12/26, and it is unclear whether they will do any work at that time. Word on the street is that NC will not have a budget until after the primaries. As always, we encourage you to continue calling your elected representatives about issues that matter to you.

- Senator Thom Tillis: (202) 224-6342

- Senator Ted Budd: (202) 224-3154

- Representative Pat Harrigan: (202) 225-2576

- Representative Virginia Foxx: (202) 225-2071  

To find and contact your state legislators, go to https://www.ncleg.gov/FindYourLegislators

Enter your home address to link to contacts for your NC Senator and Representative.

Thank you for everything you do to protect our democracy!

ICCV Legislative Committee

“With Liberty and Justice for ALL”