APEX, N.C. – Election chiefs on Monday said the in-person voting experience will be largely the same, albeit with some modifications for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Crews spent Monday setting up early voting sites all over the state. In Apex, voting booths that normally would have been located in a small side room were moved to the main gymnasium at the Apex Community Center to ensure there would be enough room to spread everyone out. Sneeze guards were set up at the checking stations. Wake County Elections Director Gary Sims said each voter will be given a single-use pen to mark their ballots, along with a face mask if they need one.

Sims said the single best way to streamline the process is to print off your sample ballot and mark down your preferred candidates ahead of time. This way you spend less time in the voting booth.

As of Monday morning, state election officials had received more than 478,000 absentee ballots, compared to 41,655 at this same time in 2016. Sims said if you requested an absentee ballot but then decided you want to vote in person after all, you can do so unless you have already put your absentee ballot in the mail. If you changed your mind, he said to destroy your absentee ballot because you will receive a new one at the polls.

“If you've already dropped it in the mail or delivered it to our office, then you've already voted in this election,” he said.

At the first presidential debate, President Donald Trump called on his supporters to “go to the polls and watch carefully.” Sims said election observers are nothing new but they have to be vetted ahead of time, something that is done through the political parties. Observers are not permitted to speak with voters or stand close enough to read confidential information. Any other poll watching must be done outside of the 50-foot perimeter outside the polling location. Voter intimidation in North Carolina is a Class-2 misdemeanor.

Unlike on Election Day, you can vote at any polling place in your county. Same-day voter registration is available during early voting but is not available on Election Day itself. Each of the more than 7,600 early voting sites across the state is open from 8:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekdays. Weekend hours vary.