ASHEBORO N.C. (ACME NEWS) — Nearly 3.2 million North Carolinians have already cast their ballots in the 2024 general election, marking a turnout of 40.7% of the state’s 7.8 million registered voters, according to preliminary data from the State Board of Elections.
Most of the turnout so far comes from in-person early voting, which has seen 3,013,104 ballots cast as of Tuesday. The State Board notes that these numbers could be slightly undercounted due to a delay in data uploads from county election boards. Absentee voting started later in this election due to a court decision requiring the removal of a candidate’s name from the ballot.
As of Monday night, more than 2.9 million people had voted in person during the 12 days of early voting. This is an 11.9% increase from 2020, when about 2.6 million voters had cast ballots by the same point. Even with an increase in registered voters since 2020, early in-person voting this year is still up by 2.1%.
Additionally, absentee voting totals released show that with one week remaining, 166,112 absentee ballots have been cast in this election. That number is a significant decrease from the 2020 presidential election, which saw 815,341 absentee ballots cast at the same point. Officials attribute the drop to a return to more traditional in-person voting options, as 2020’s higher absentee numbers were likely driven by COVID-19-related safety concerns.
Early voting continues until Saturday, Nov. 2, but schedules vary by county, and not all counties offer Sunday voting. Voters can check specific times and locations with the Early Voting Site Search tool from the State Board of Elections.
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