Early voting starts today. Here’s how it works.

Early voting for November’s general election begins today (Thursday, October 20) and runs until November 5.

If you’re not registered to vote, that’s OK. You can register and vote on the same day at early voting sites this year. But if you’re not already registered as of today, don’t plan on voting on Election Day (11/8). You won’t be able to.

For the first week, the following 10 sites will be open.

On weekdays, they’ll be open from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. On Saturdays, it’s 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays, it’s 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

• Ballantyne Village – 14825 Ballantyne Village Way
• Beatties Ford Library – 2412 Beatties Ford Rd
• Cornelius Town Hall – 21445 Catawba Ave, Cornelius
• Hal Marshall Annex – 618 N College St
• Hickory Grove Library – 5935 Hickory Grove Rd
• Morrison Regional Library – 7015 Morrison Blvd;
• North County Regional Library – 16500 Holly Crest Ln
• Steele Creek – 11130 S Tryon St
• University City Regional Library – 301 E W T Harris Blvd
• West Boulevard Library – 2157 West Blvd

Yes, the Morrison branch will be open for voting even though the library is closed for renovations. The polling station will be taking over a front room, and they’ll be putting 25 voting stations in there. That’s a lot.

After that, 22 sites will be open — October 27 until November 5.

The 10 sites above will be open, plus the following 12. The hours are the same as above, except for the last day. That Saturday, voting is only from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

• Bette Rae Thomas Rec Center – 2921 Tuckaseegee Rd
• Delta Center – 5408 Beatties Ford Rd
• Independence Regional Library – 6000 Conference Dr
• Main Branch Library – (Downtown) – 310 N Tryon St
• Marion Diehl Rec Center – 2219 Tyvola Rd
• Matthews Library – 230 Matthews Station St, Matthews
• Midwood Cultural Center – 1817 Central Ave
• Mint Hill Library – 6840 Matthews-Mint Hill Rd
• Mountain Island Library – 4420 Hoyt Galvin Way
• South County Regional Library – 5801 Rea Rd
• Sugar Creek Library – 4045 N Tryon St
• UNCC – Cone Center – 9201 University City Blvd

View them all on a map here. View a handy calendar of voting hours for each day of early voting here.

What do you need to vote?

Nothing. There is no voter ID requirement this year, per a court decision earlier this year. You will be asked what your address is, so you’ll need to know that.

[Agenda story: What the Supreme Court decision on N.C. voting means for Charlotte voters]

If you need to register, though, you will need some ID. A current photo ID is required, plus something with a current address on it (like a utility bill, bank statement, tax bill, hunting license, paycheck or student ID).

A current driver’s license will satisfy both of these.

What’s the process like?

Simple. At each site, there will be signs directing you where to go. You’ll check in at a table with a few friendly poll workers there. They’ll ask for your name and address, and you’ll then be directed to a voting machine where you’ll vote by touch screen.

The whole process only ever takes me 10 minutes, tops. I haven’t run into a line at early voting yet.

Who are you voting for?

You already know about the presidential election. Also on the ballot this year are U.S. Senate, U.S. House, N.C. governor and lieutenant governor, N.C. House and Senate, state cabinet positions (like auditor, attorney general, etc.), county commissioners, a bunch of judges and Soil and Water Conservation District supervisor.

Your specific choices will depend on where you live. You can look up your sample ballot here. The Agenda will have a full guide to your election decisions soon.