North Carolina breaks record for early voting
Early voting in North Carolina has reached record levels in 2024.
The in-person early voting turnout broke the record set four years ago, the North Carolina State Board of Elections said Friday. As of 2 p.m. Friday, more than 3,798,000 voters had cast ballots in person during the early voting period that began Oct. 17 and ends at 3 p.m. Saturday.
NC Ballot Tracker | Early voting in North Carolina
In 2020, more than 3,629,000 ballots were cast during early voting.
Total turnout for the 2024 general election now exceeds 4 million voters. The ballots cast through 2 p.m. - 4,009,149 - represent a turnout of more than half (51.2%) of North Carolina's registered voters.
"With early voting sites expected to be very busy today and tomorrow, this is really good news for North Carolina," said Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the NC State Board of Elections. "For the eligible North Carolinians who haven't voted yet, you still have time to make your voice heard."
In 2020, 65% of NC voters used the early voting period to cast their ballots.
Republicans have historically turned out in smaller numbers than Democrats in early voting -- generally voting in larger numbers on Election Day -- but this year's turnout has been substantially higher.