More than a third of registered voters in North Carolina have cast ballots in the general election, according to the state’s Board of Elections.
Roughly 2,821,000 ballots had been cast as of Sunday, which accounts for about 36% of the state’s approximately 7,793,000 registered voters. Of those ballots, around 2,666,000 were cast in person during early voting, and about 155,000 were absentee ballots.
Tuesday, Oct. 29, is the last day North Carolina voters can request an absentee ballot ahead of the Nov. 5 election. The North Carolina State Board of Elections has emergency measures to aid 13 counties in western North Carolina that were devastated by damage from Hurricane Helene. Some of the changes include allowing county election boards to vote to modify early voting days, hours, and sites and to open a polling place in another county if needed.
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About 35% of the state’s nearly 441,000 requested absentee ballots have been returned.
When broken down by party, 33% of registered Democrats and 34% of registered Republicans have already cast their ballots. Nationwide, more than 41 million votes have already been cast, with Democrats generally having an advantage.
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Still, Republicans are participating in early voting at a much higher rate than they did in 2020. In 2020, former President Donald Trump claimed early and absentee voting was fraudulent, but in 2024, he and Republicans broadly have urged their voters to use early voting methods.
Early turnout broke records last week in the swing states of Georgia and North Carolina. On the first day of in-person early voting, about 328,000 Georgia voters cast their ballots.