Both Harris and Trump make final push for NC voters | Live Blog

Polls close at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 5. Any voter in line at that time will be allowed to vote, so voting may continue hours after 7:30 at certain polling locations.

A new North Carolina law makes it illegal to count in-person early votes before polls close Tuesday. However, by-mail absentee ballots received before Election Day can be tabulated.

That means the first election results reported by counties to the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBOE) will likely be by-mail absentee ballots. NCSBOE estimates there will be a 30-60 minute delay in getting the in-person early voting results submitted to the state.

At the end of the night, NCSBOE estimates 98 percent of all ballots cast will be reported publicly. The remaining ballots will then be tabulated over the following 10-day canvass period. That's the timeframe when the following type of ballots will be counted and added to the total:

• Absentee ballots received on Election Day.
• Provisional ballots cast early or on Election Day.
• Certain absentee ballots dropped off by voters in the 25 counties affected by Hurricane Helene.
• Military and overseas-citizen absentee ballots that arrive by mail at county board of elections offices from Election Day through 5 p.m. November 14.

Remember, all election results on or in the immediate days after Election Day are unofficial. In the days after the election, bipartisan election officials in all 100 counties will audit all of the results during the canvass period.

County boards will certify election results on November 15. The state board will certify the final results on November 26.

More details about how North Carolina counts votes and reports results.

Kamala Harris's campaign will be holding a rally and concert tonight in Raleigh.

Musical guests include Fantasia, James Taylor, Remi Wolf, and Sugarland.

The event is part of a series of simultaneous events happening at all 7 battleground states for the Harris campaign.

Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff will also be in Greenville for a campaign event, according to the Harris-Walz campaign.

Former President Donald Trump made sure to put on a show for those who waited hours to see him on Sunday in Kinston.

This was his 62nd straight day he had a rally and he has a few more left before Tuesday.

"The atmosphere, the energy is fun you have to support your candidates," said Kim Hoff from Rocky Mount.

Sunday's stage was equipped with glass to protect the former president after what happened in Butler Pennsylvania.

He did a flyover in his own plane before circling back to greet a supportive crowd on the ground in Lenoir County.

"I'm thrilled to be back. In this beautiful state with thousands of proud, hardworking American patriots," said Trump.

Trump tackled familiar topics like the economy and the crisis at the southern border.

"The American dream is going to be brought back at the highest level. And this is all you have to know. Kamala broke it, and I will fix it and then go quickly," Trump said.

He continued to push the false narrative that the federal government was giving money to migrants instead of those affected by Hurricane Helene.

Trump also touted record-high numbers of early votes in favor of Republicans.

"He's a smart man, he's a businessman, he knows what he's doing and he'll do it again," said rally attendee Kathy Baker.

As Election Day quickly approaches, there's hard work being done at the grassroots level for both parties, with many volunteers canvassing homes Sunday in a final push to sway potentially undecided voters.

Organizers for both sides said they remain energetic and optimistic heading into Tuesday.

"I think they all have a good chance to win, and I think the momentum is there. I think the fact that so many Republicans have come out across North Carolina, even more than 2020, is going to help us," said Sandy Joiner, who helped canvass in Cary alongside other members of the Western Wake Republican Club on Sunday.

Similar efforts took place nearby for the Harris campaign.

"I want to go beyond just giving, casting my vote. I feel -- and that's why I did the postcards, the phone bank, and door to door," said Anagha Kalvade, a Harris volunteer. "Because I feel on Tuesday, I don't want any regret that I could have done a little bit more to talk to people and tell them how important this election is."

Political experts, meantime, say the level of attention North Carolina is receiving from both campaigns so close to election day isn't the norm, even as a swing state.

"It's not normal," said NC State political science professor Steven Greene. "In recent elections, this has been a close state, it's been a state that's been a must-have for Republicans and a like-have for Democrats. And the electoral map looking how it does, this thing being such a toss-up at the national level, I think both of these campaigns feel like this state is a must-have."