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Early in-person voting, which ended Saturday, has become
increasingly popular in the presidential battleground state over
several election cycles. People can simultaneously register to
vote and cast ballots at early voting sites.
Four years ago, a record 3.63 million people voted at hundreds
of sites in all 100 counties during the early-voting period.
This year, the state exceeded that total by Thursday, days
before the period ended, the board said.
Including absentee voting, 4,465,548 voters — or 57% of the
state’s 7.8 million registered voters — cast ballots in the
general election as of Sunday morning, officials said, noting
that turnout may be slightly higher because of a lag between
when ballots are cast and when data is uploaded.
Turnout in the 25 western counties affected by Hurricane Helene
was stronger than the rest of the state at 58.9% — about 2%
higher than statewide turnout, officials said.
“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,” state board Executive Director Karen Brinson
Bell said in a statement. “And I am especially proud of the
workers and voters of Western North Carolina. You are an
inspiration to us all.”
This year’s strong early turnout has come partly in response to
a push by state and national Republicans to get people to vote
early. Their message marks a sharp contrast to the 2020
election, when former President Donald Trump — without any
evidence to back the claim — said mail-in voting was rife with
fraud.
In addition to president, North Carolina residents are choosing
a new governor, attorney general and several other statewide
positions, along with members of the U.S. House and state
General Assembly.
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