NC State's Talley Student Union is one of 22 early voting sites across Wake County for the 2024 election. According to the Wake County Board of Elections Early Voting Unofficial Daily Turnout on WakeVotesEarly.com, more than 4,300 cast a ballot during Talley's first four days of early voting. Photo by Jamie Lynn Gilbert, used by permission.
Written by Emilia Rivadeneira, WKNC Public Affairs Director
Whether you’re voting for the first time or have participated in elections before, here are essential tips and resources to keep in mind as Election Day approaches.
1. Understand How to Vote
Familiarize yourself with the voting options available, including in-person, mail-in ballot, and early voting.
Early Voting and General Election
The in-person early voting period for the 2024 general election started on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024 and ends at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024.
For registered voters in the Triangle area, here’s a list of early voting locations by county:
Wake Technical Community College Northern Campus BLDG – E
Wake Technical Community College Southern Campus BLDG – T
Wendell Community Center
The General Election is on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. Some early-voting locations might not serve as election day voting locations, such as Talley Student Union in Wake County. To find your designated polling location for election day, visit the online tool from the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
Mail-in ballots
Oct. 29 is the deadline to apply for an absentee ballot in North Carolina. Registered voters can request an absentee ballot through the NCSBE website or by submitting a paper form.
The ballot this election includes more than just the presidential race – state and local elections are also on the agenda. Understanding the roles and responsibilities of each position is crucial.
To better understand the various positions on the ballot, Technician has put together an informative guide covering roles such as the NC lieutenant governor, NC auditor and more. For a detailed overview, check out the piece on the Technician’s website. Registered voters can find their sample ballot through their Voter Search profile.
When it comes to candidates, non-partisan guides can serve as a valuable resource to assist you in making informed choices during these elections.
NC Voter and NC Voter Guide are two non-partisan website guides that provide candidate information, background and statements.
Several news outlets in North Carolina are offering election coverage, including candidate profiles and questionnaires.
The News and Observer also published a Voter’s Guide featuring responses from 109 candidates running in statewide and congressional races, as well as numerous candidates from the Triangle area for legislative and city positions.
The Assembly also provides an in-depth guide, which includes key dates, sample ballots according to area of registration and candidate information.
Political campaign signs outside NC State’s Talley Student Union during early voting for the 2024 election. Photo by Jamie Lynn Gilbert, used by permission.
4. Bring Required Identification
A photo ID is required to vote in North Carolina.
According to the North Carolina State Board of Elections, these are the acceptable Photo IDs for voting:
North Carolina driver’s license
State ID from the NCDMV
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 (see Get a Free Voter Photo ID)
College or university student ID approved by the State Board of Elections. For NC State University students, this includes the Wolfpack OneCard.
State or local government or charter school employee ID approved by the State Board of Elections.
5. Stay Updated
Stay updated on local election news by following outlets such as WUNC, The News and Observer, INDY Week and The Assembly, all of which are covering this election season. Additionally, “Eye on the Triangle” will continue to provide coverage leading up to Election Day.
Don’t miss a special live one-hour program with host Emilia Rivadeneira from midnight to 1 a.m. on Nov. 6, 2024, which will also be streamed nationally on iHeartRadio.
A sin perhaps more grievous than my admission of being a fan of The Garden is that I’ve waited almost a month to sit down and consume their latest singles.
The Garden, an experimental (that’s one way to put it) rock band hailing from Orange County, defines itself with punk-infused, eclectic sounds that continually push the bounds of genre, a concept the band refers to as “Vada Vada,” the name of the “universe” in which all The Garden tracks diegetically exist.
The band got its start in 2013 with the debut album “The Life and Times of a Paperclip,” and has continued to develop its sound since, gaining massive popularity — and some infamy — in the alternative scene.
Cover for “Mirror Might Steal Your Charm” by The Garden
Although labeled by many as a “TikTok music,” The Garden’s work has great artistic merit. Earlier releases like “Call This # Now” and “🙁” (from the album “Mirror Might Steal Your Charm“) are instrumentally and aesthetically robust, towing the line between garage punk and straight-up avant-garde.
While The Garden has played with various flavors of “strange punk music,” their most recent album, “Horsesh– On Route 66” represented what I consider to be an archetypal “The Garden style,” laden with bizarre soundbytes, silly sound effects and grunge-tinged vocals.
Cover for “Horsesh– on Route 66” by The Garden
I’ll be honest: after soaking in the release of “Route 66,” I wondered if The Garden had already reached the extent of its capabilities. The Shears brothers’s respective side projects, Puzzle and Enjoy, were comparatively more prolific than The Garden. I wouldn’t have been surprised if The Garden announced a split after the completion of their “Route 66” tour.
Thus, it was a great surprise when the band dropped two singles — teasers for another album titled “Six Desperate Ballads” — within a few months of each other.
“Filthy Rabbit Hole”
Probably the closest The Garden has gotten thus far to capturing the classic punk sounds of the 80s, “Filthy Rabbit Hole” is laden with vigorous, distorted guitar.
The California-tinged vocals of Wyatt Shears ground the track in nostalgic, almost beachy garage-rock and the simple and repetitive lyrics — “I’m blacked out/ I’m back down” — are fun and rhythmic. While not a particularly “inspired” song, it’s got a catchy and danceable beat.
“Ballet”
My favorite of the two releases, “Ballet” is something of a club anthem: electronic, upbeat and hypnotically syncopated.
Vocal duties shift between Wyatt and Fletcher, with various soundbytes woven throughout. While “Ballet” and “Filthy Rabbit Hole” differ drastically in style, they have complementary elements — a similarly gritty, grunge-filtered quality — that makes them work. I’m interested in seeing where these two tracks fit in the full album.
Yukimi Nagano for the cover of her new single "Break Me Down."
Yukimi Nagano, best known as part of the experimental indietronica/R&B gorgeousness that is Little Dragon, released a track called “Break Me Down” on October 9, 2024. I love Yukimi Nagano (my car is named after the woman), so I’m pretty thrilled about it.
It has the same quirky blazing synths and piano notes Little Dragon unique to Little Dragon’s sound, but it’s just the slightest bit edgier—the track almost reminds me of something off of Jim James’ “Eternally Even.”
“Break Me Down” is sweet and triumphant like a revelation of capability, as Nagano sings, “[E]very day I’m reborn like a new reveal.” Another line, “[E]very day that I wake and I let in love / And I hope that you know my heart’s enough,” is something to be written on a sticky note, posted on a bathroom mirror to see in the mornings.
I will admit I’m not as intrigued by it as I am with some of Little Dragon’s other work, like “Rush” or “The Other Lover,” featuring Moses Sumney — for context, Little Dragon often has off-the-wall elements that make their songs peculiar at first listen, and completely charming by the third — but maybe Nagano’s simpler approach to her solo debut has a purpose as something foundational. Her voice is still as beautiful and summery as ever, and the track is sunny; I’m excited to see the direction she takes on her own.
