2023 Municipal Election
The municipal election will be held on Tuesday, November 7, 2023.
Brunswick County has 19 municipalities, 2 sanitary districts, and a hospital authority that will hold elections this year. See the List of Elected Officials to find out what seats are up for election.
Candidate Filing
Filing Dates: Friday, July 7 at noon through Friday, July 21 at noon
Candidate Withdrawal Deadline: Tuesday, July 18 at 5 PM
Filing Fees: Filing fees for municipal offices are $5, except for Belville ($15) and Oak Island ($25). Filing fees should be paid in the form of a cash, check or money order. Business or corporate checks are not accepted. Exact change is required if paying in cash. (Cash is only accepted if filing fees are less than $50).
Important Dates
Friday, October 6: Absentee ballots available
Sunday, October 8: Residency deadline
Friday, October 13: Voter registration deadline (forms must be postmarked by this date)
Thursday, October 19 – Saturday, November 4: One-stop early voting
Tuesday, October 31: Last day to request absentee ballot
Tuesday, November 7, at 5:00 pm: Hand delivered absentee ballots due at the Board of Elections office
Tuesday, November 7: Municipal Election (polls open from 6:30 am – 7:30 pm)
Monday, November 13: Mailed absentee ballots due at the Board of Elections office (must be postmarked on or before November 7)
Friday, November 17, 11:00 am: Canvass
Municipal Election Eligibility
Not all voters are eligible to vote in this year’s municipal election. Many Brunswick County voters live in unincorporated areas, meaning they do not reside in a municipality.
Elections for two sanitary districts and a hospital authority are also being held this year.
The easiest way to determine if you live within a municipality or special district is to look up your voter record. Below is a sample of what you will find in the Your Jurisdictions section or up your voter record. 
If you have something listed for Municipality, Sanitary, or Rescue District, then you are eligible to vote in this year’s municipal election.
Voter Residency Requirements
An incorrect belief is that anyone who owns property in a municipality or county or pays taxes to it has the right to vote there. The reality is that a person needs to establish that location as their permanent residence in order to be eligible to vote there.
A person registering to vote must have, by the time of the election, resided in that municipality or county for at least 30 days with the intent to make that location a permanent place of residence.
Staff of the North Carolina State Board of Elections offers the following general opinion: “A person may have an actual abode (residence) in one place, and their permanent established home (domicile) in another. A domicile is the place to which the person intends to return. The law requires all persons to have only one domicile for voting purposes.”
