North Carolina Early Voting Sees Strong Participation, Yet Total Turnout Trails 2020
As of noon on Tuesday, over 3 million ballots, representing approximately 40% of North Carolina’s registered voters, have been cast during the early voting period. With about 7.8 million registered voters in the state, nearly 3.2 million individuals have participated in the electoral process thus far.
Out of the 3 million ballots, about 170,000 were absentee ballots, predominantly from civilian voters at 148,000, while military absentee ballots accounted for nearly 5,000 and overseas ballots exceeded 15,000. Dr. Andy Jackson, Director of the Civitas Center for Public Integrity at the John Locke Foundation, noted that while early voting is on track for record numbers, total turnout is lagging by around 300,000 votes compared to the same point in the 2020 election cycle. He emphasized the necessity for a strong Election Day turnout to meet or surpass 2020 gains.
Through Monday, over 2.9 million voters had cast ballots in person, showing a modest increase of 2.1% in early in-person voting compared to the same period in 2020. Voter turnout had climbed to 3,382,286 ballots by Wednesday morning. Notably, counties in western North Carolina affected by Hurricane Helene are experiencing higher turnout rates.
Despite overall improvements, concerns about specific demographic turnout are emerging. Black voter participation has noticeably decreased compared to 2020, which could potentially impact Democratic support given that 92% of Black voters backed Biden in the last election. Furthermore, young Republican voters have increased, while young Democratic voters have decreased, intensifying concerns about voter engagement within the Democratic base.
Patrick Gannon from the North Carolina State Board of Elections called for all unregistered voters to take part before early voting concludes on Saturday, encouraging a push for record-breaking turnout. Voting on Election Day, November 5, will be conducted from 6:30 am to 7:30 pm.
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