Commentary: You can still affect who wins a close election in NC

I hope this column will rescue the ballot of someone you know from being discarded.

You can help.

The 2026 election has not ended. There are 61 counties in North Carolina where voters with ballots in limbo could decide who wins or loses. The close contests include three Congressional races, several contests for seats in the General Assembly, and more than a dozen local elections, from school board to district attorney.

More than 35,000 provisional ballots are still being evaluated by local election officials to see if the person qualifies to vote. Maybe their name didn't show up on the registration rolls for one reason or another, so they had to cast a provisional ballot. Or they didn't have an approved photo ID to show the poll worker.

These voters have until noon Tuesday to contact their county board of elections and provide additional information or confirm the official's research that they are qualified to vote.

Another 700 or so voters who submitted a ballot by mail also need to take immediate action before Tuesday at noon. Some glitch – perhaps an unsealed envelop or missing identity information – is holding up the final...