North Carolina breaks early voting turnout record as excitement builds for 2024 election

The first day of early voting is over in North Carolina, and the numbers show interesting differences from 2020.

The United States has gone through many changes in the four years since the country's last presidential election. So it's hard to know what, if anything, can be gleaned from comparing one day of voting statistics.

In-person voting saw a 1.3% increase from 2020 to 2024. However, mail-in absentee voting saw a major decrease, down to 77,661 from a whopping 568,188.

So after the first day of early voting 428,299 ballots were cast in 2024, that number was 916,787 in 2020.

That major shift in mail-in voting can be attributed to the country being in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, causing many more people to request mail-in ballots to avoid standing in a crowd to vote.

On the first day of in-person early voting in 2024, Republicans and men turned out in higher numbers than in 2020.

Registered Republicans made up 122,765 voters in 2024 but only 95,202 in 2020. Men made up 153,782 voters in 2024 but only 143,629 in 2020.

Meanwhile Democrats and women saw lower turnout in 2024: 128,493 and 183,190 as opposed to 166,489 and 187,269 respectively.

More people voted on the first day of early voting in 2024 than ever before.

The North Carolina Board of Elections said voters cast 353,166 in-person ballots on Thursday, breaking the record set in 2020 of 348,599. In addition, the state received another 75,133 absentee ballots. Meaning the total number of votes cast already in North Carolina is 428,299.

"Yesterday's turnout is a clear sign that voters are energized about this election, that they trust the elections process, and that a hurricane will not stop North Carolinians from exercising their right to vote," said Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the State Board of Elections. "Let's keep it rolling, North Carolina."

Of those day one voter, 36% (157,246) were registered Democrat, 33% (143,833) were registered Republican and 30% (128,473) were registered as unaffiliated.

The majority of the first day votes were done in person, with 353,826 people casting ballots at the state's more than 400 early voting sites. Another 77,661 people cast their absentee ballot.

In-person day one early voting saw 128,493 registered Democrats, 122,765 registered Republicans and 101,139 people registered as unaffiliated.

Women showed up to vote in higher numbers than men. A total of 222,974 women voted as opposed to 185,333 men. That means 52% of early voters were women. The latest US Census data shows that 51% of people in North Carolina are women.

The largest portion of women who voted were registered Democrat (91,966), followed by Republican (70,394) and unaffiliated (59,848). But the story is different for men, with the largest group being registered Republican (66,951), followed by unaffiliated (58,963) and lastly Democrat 58,476.

Wake County saw the most voters in the state with a total of 42,113. Mecklenburg County came in a close second with 40,065.

In Durham County, 15,682 people voted. In Cumberland County, 10,798 people voted. In Orange County, 7,604 people voted.

The Wake County Speedway in Raleigh was among the stops with the Team Trump Bus Tour across the state.

It brought a group of Trump surrogates to the speedway Thursday. The campaign said it's their way of enticing undecided voters across the Tar Heel state to support the former president.

"I've been a long supporter of President Trump and believe he gives us the best opportunity to empower citizens again," South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem said.

"I've been a long supporter of President Trump and believe he gives us the best opportunity to empower citizens again," South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem said, "and make decisions for themselves and get more economic freedom and to put us back in a secure spot on the world stage

"I think the people of North Carolina, the people of America, want America to be strong again," Michael Whately, Republican National Convention chairman, said, "and they're gonna vote accordingly."

The tour will stretch into the eastern part of the state on Friday.

Former President Donald Trump will return to battleground North Carolina on Monday.

The Republican presidential nominee will attend an "11th Hour Faith Leaders Meeting" in Concord.

He'll be joined by his son Eric Trump and Dr. Ben Carson.

The event will be at the Concord Convention Center, 5400 John Q. Hammons Dr NW. Doors open at 3:30 p.m. Trump is expected to deliver remarks at 6:30 p.m.

People wishing to attend can get ticket information here.