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.
A growing percentage of younger voters are stepping up to make their voices heard.
"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.
