Parties monitor early voting data in battleground NC ahead of last weekend before Election Day

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- With just days before Election Day, we're getting a better look at early voting data and what it means as North Carolina plays as role as a key battleground state.

With dueling rallies heading into the weekend, more than half of North Carolina's registered voters have already weighed in, as we are on pace for breaking records.

As of today, over 50 percent of registered voters have cast a ballot either absentee by mail or in person. In 2020, the overall turnout was 75 percent.

The latest statewide data also shows a breakdown of who's showed up.

As of the data through October 31st, 1,306,879 registered Republicans had voted, followed by 1,273,131 Unaffiliated voters, and 1,256,454 registered Democrats - roughly an even split, but with the GOP with a slight turnout edge.

When it comes to race, the electoral that has turned so far is 70% white and 18% Black, meaning Black voter turnout is slightly below the 20% share of registered Black voters in North Carolina.

SEE ALSO | North Carolina Ballot Tracker

There is also a wide gender map, with women making up 56 percent of the turnout, compared to 44 percent of men.

And while no one has a crystal ball, both parties believe the numbers look promising. For Republicans, they believe their slight edge in turnout is as result of a shift in strategy towards early voting.

"The biggest thing that continues to be a surprise is you look at every county across North Carolina. There's not one county that Democrats are doing better today than they were four years ago. On their vote totals. So the Democrat vote is way down. Republican vote is up. And that's really a reflection of people rejecting Kamala Harris and her message and ready to move on from the disaster of the last four years," says NCGOP Chair Jason Simmons.

For Democrats, they believe Republicans voting early means fewer red voters on Election Day. They also believe the large numbers of women hitting the polls combined with unaffiliated voters they believe will ultimately trend blue is a good sign.

"We are encouraged by how many women over 55% of the electorate so far for early vote has been a demographic that honestly, Republicans have been targeting in our state strategically. To make sure that they take back rights that women have earned and that they want to protect this year at the ballot box more so than anything. I would say, young voters too, even though we have seen an extremely large amount of unaffiliated voters, we've been talking to them this last year or two and making sure that young people know who is protecting their rights," says NC Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton.