Across America, many voters are scared, angry, and overwhelmed, assaulted by a constant stream of misinformation and lies. Sporadic voters, especially, are being primed to tune out and give up: It costs too much to pay the bills, healthcare and food assistance are being snatched away, and whole communities are living in fear. Casting a ballot for a member of Congress — or for school board, or city council, or a judge nobody’s ever heard of — is, understandably, the last thing on many people’s minds.

That’s why reaching voters and increasing turnout is one of the most important things we can do this year. This election might be the most critical one of our lifetimes. So don’t sit this one out. Step up and get involved! From a little to a lot, there’s something all of us can do to reach voters and boost turnout in 2026.

1. VOTE EARLY — You can register or update your registration and vote all at the same time, but only during the Early Voting period. You can also vote at any convenient voting site during Early Voting, unlike on Election Day, when you can only vote at your regular polling place. The Early Voting period for the 2026 General Election is Thursday, October 15 until 3 p.m. Saturday, October 31. Each county Board of Elections will post available locations sometime in September. When available, you can find Early Voting hours and locations here.

2. LEARN WHAT’S ON YOUR BALLOT — Sample ballots for the 2026 General Election can be downloaded from the NC Board of Elections website once they become available. Use the Voter Lookup tool at vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup to find your voting info details, scroll down to find your sample ballot, then click on the Sample Ballot link for a downloadable PDF.

3. GET NONPARTISAN CANDIDATE GUIDES — Several nonpartisan organizations have excellent voting guides, which will soon include information on candidates for the 2026 General Election. We recommend You Can Vote; Vote 411; the North Carolina NAACP; and NCVoterGuide.org, a service of Common Cause NC.

4. DO MORE — Get involved with WNC Votes! Check out the opportunities below.

Join us for an upcoming voter outreach event.

We are proud to partner with organizations that are committed to reaching out to voters in this critical election year. Organizations participating in the WNC Votes! Coalition include Carolina Jews for Justice, Glitter Sisters Inc, Good Trouble WNC, Indivisible Asheville/WNC, League of Women Voters of Asheville/Buncombe County, NC Poor People’s Campaign, North Carolina Voter Project, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville, and YWCA of Asheville.