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

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Last updated: Saturday, October 19, 2024 5:29PM GMT
Your Voice Your Vote 2024
Your Voice Your Vote 2024After a record-breaking day one of in-person early voting, voters across the Triangle were out in full force again Friday.

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- It's no secret that North Carolina is one of several key battleground states. That's not lost on the presidential candidates, who along with their surrogates have been constant presences in the state for months leading up to the 2024 general election.

Democrats think they can flip North Carolina for the first time since 2008. Republicans are out to deliver the state for Trump yet again.

In the updates below, you'll find the latest information on when the major party candidates plan campaign stops in the state during these final few weeks counting down to Nov. 5, Election Day. You'll also find other relevant updates, quick hits and links for statewide and local races.

Click here for the latest stories on NC politics.

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5:28 PM GMT

Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff to stop in NC next week

Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff will be in the Triangle Tuesday to encourage North Carolinians to vote early, according to the Harris-Walz campaign.

He will participate "in hurricane relief efforts and deliver remarks at a Get Out The Vote event."

The specific location and time have not been released yet.

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5:23 PM GMT

How North Carolina officials work to ensure safety and security of voters and elections

North Carolina State Board of Elections said officials across the state work to ensure the safety and security of all voters and the election process.

Several processes are in place to secure the state's elections, including voting equipment testing and the investigations division.

Read more.

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Oct 18, 2024, 9:36 PM GMT

Trump campaign holding policy event in Hope Mills

The Trump campaign will hold a policy event in Hope Mills as part of its Team Trump Agenda 47 Policy Tour.

The event will be at 6 p.m. Saturday at Paradise Acres, 1965 John McMillan Road. Doors open at 5 p.m., according to a release. However, the time is listed as 2 p.m. on the Team Trump website.

Florida Reps. Cory Mills, Mike Waltz, Brian Mast, and Greg Steube will deliver remarks at the event.

Those wishing to attend can register for tickets here. Attendees should double-check the time of the event before going.

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Oct 18, 2024, 4:28 PM GMT

Comparing early voting from 2024 to 2020 is complicated

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.