North Carolina sees unprecedented early voting: 4.2 million ballots cast

By Thursday, days before the early voting period closed, the state had already exceeded the 2020 record of 3.63 million early voters across all 100 counties, the board said. With absentee ballots included, a total of 4,465,548 voters — around 57% of North Carolina’s 7.8 million registered voters — had cast ballots as of Sunday morning. Officials noted that the turnout figure might be slightly higher, as there is sometimes a delay in data uploading.

In the 25 western counties affected by Hurricane Helene, turnout reached 58.9%, about 2% higher than the statewide average, officials said. Executive Director of the State Board of Elections, Karen Brinson Bell, praised local election officials and voters, stating, “I am proud of all of our 100 county boards of elections and the thousands of election workers who are making this happen in their communities.”

She added, “And I am especially proud of the workers and voters of Western North Carolina. You are an inspiration to us all.”

This year’s surge in early turnout was partly driven by an effort from state and national Republicans encouraging early voting. The message is in stark contrast to the 2020 election, when former President Donald Trump, without evidence, claimed that mail-in voting was prone to fraud.

In addition to voting for president, North Carolina residents are casting ballots for positions including governor, attorney general, other statewide offices, as well as seats in the US House and the state General Assembly.

(with inputs from Associated Press)