North Carolina State University

Early voting opens Oct. 15 and runs through Oct. 31 in North Carolina, a key battleground in the 2025 midterms. The marquee race is the open U.S. Senate seat left by retiring Republican Thom Tillis, pitting Democrat and former Gov. Roy Cooper against Republican Michael Whatley, the Trump-backed former RNC chair, with Green and Libertarian candidates also on the ballot. Democrats are targeting the seat as part of a broader push to flip the four seats needed for Senate control.

The ballot also includes competitive U.S. House races, including Charlotte-area districts held by Reps. Alma Adams, Tim Moore and Mark Harris, plus down-ballot contests for the N.C. Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, state legislature, and Mecklenburg County offices. Voters will also weigh in on constitutional amendments covering voter ID, income tax caps and property tax limits, along with Charlotte bond measures for transportation, housing and neighborhood improvements. Election Day is Nov. 3, with North Carolina's results seen as a bellwether for national party control in Washington.

North Carolina's Republican-majority State Board of Elections approved new mail-in voting restrictions on Sept. 4, hours before counties began mailing absentee ballots for the 2026 midterms. The 3-2 party-line vote requires officials to disqualify ballots returned in unsealed envelopes, reversing a prior policy that treated such errors as non-material, and limits who may submit a ballot on a voter's behalf to close relatives or legal guardians. Gov. Josh Stein criticized the move as a last-minute "circumvention" of the law that could disenfranchise voters. Other states, including Wisconsin, have since begun mailing their own 2026 absentee ballots, with local clerks directing voters to online portals to request, track, and confirm receipt of ballots ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

The rollout continues amid a broader legal fight over President Trump's executive order targeting mail-in voting nationwide, which requires federal approval of ballot envelope designs and voter list submissions. A federal judge has extended an order blocking USPS enforcement of the directive through the November elections, and the Trump administration has again appealed to the Supreme Court to lift the injunction. North Carolina, the first state to send out 2026 absentee ballots, voluntarily submitted its envelope design for federal review while still challenging the order's constitutionality. The absentee request deadline in North Carolina is Oct. 20.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom capped a multi-state "take it back tour" with eight public events across South Carolina, plus stops in Alabama and North Carolina, intensifying speculation about a 2028 Democratic presidential run. In North Carolina, Newsom campaigned for U.S. Senate candidate Roy Cooper in Charlotte and rallied Labor Day weekend crowds in Monroe, urging Democrats to focus on the 2026 midterms rather than 2028. He accused Trump of ruthlessness, corruption and attempting to "nationalize" elections through mail-in voting restrictions, telling supporters it's time to "fight fire with fire." Newsom told the Associated Press a 2028 decision could come before year's end.

Voters and strategists increasingly frame California itself as Newsom's central liability, with critics warning his state's liberal image could hurt him against rivals like Josh Shapiro and Pete Buttigieg. Republicans, including North Carolina Senate candidate Michael Whatley and local officials, mocked the visits with "Wrong Coast" signs and accused him of trying to "California" their states. Newsom's team counters that his progressive record on health care, wages and climate could be an asset in a Democratic primary. South Carolina, hosting Democrats' first 2028 primary, remains a key early proving ground alongside hopefuls like Cory Booker.

Greensboro, N.C., was added to the North Carolina State Treasurer's Office "unit assistance list," a monitoring tool flagging local governments that may need extra financial oversight. The designation followed concerns that the city's fund balance—effectively its savings account—remains below target, currently at 22.9% against a 25% goal the city committed to reaching by 2030.

Mayor Marikay Abuzuaiter called an emergency meeting after a heated council session, insisting Greensboro is not in financial crisis and has passed clean independent audits, with nearly $100 million in reserves. Some council members, including Mayor Pro Tem Denise Turner Roth, criticized city leadership for not informing the council sooner. City Manager Trey Davis said he would work with a firm to develop a 30-to-60-day compliance plan and aims to close the gap faster than the original 2030 timeline. Officials say they had not expected the listing given ongoing talks with the state treasurer since 2022.

North Carolina's Republican-controlled State Board of Elections voted Friday, hours before mail-in ballots were set to go out to more than 46,000 voters, to change how officials decide whether to count them. Issued through a numbered memo rather than permanent rulemaking, the new standards require disqualifying ballots when signatures don't match the application on record, restrict in-person delivery to a near relative or legal guardian, mandate "spoiling" a ballot if multiple are returned in one envelope, and require rejection if the inner envelope is improperly sealed. The board's two Democrats dissented, with member Siobhan Millen arguing the move sidesteps the board's own stated commitment to permanent rulemaking and directly affects whether ballots count. Republican member Stacy Eggers called it updated guidance for county-level processing.

The change comes amid separate national litigation over a Trump executive order requiring states to share voter lists with USPS and pre-approve ballot envelope designs, which 25 states are suing to block and a judge has already paused; the Justice Department has asked the Supreme Court to let it proceed for November's elections.