Democrats and unaffiliated voters cast about 73% of ballots in NC’s record-setting early turnout

Early voting in a midterm election set a record this year in North Carolina, with more than 2.7 million people voting in person by Saturday afternoon. 

With mail-in ballots included, 2.8 million votes have been cast, meaning 36% of registered voters have cast ballots before Election Day,

The previous high for a midterm was 2022, with about 2 million votes cast in person during the early voting period. 

Saturday saw the heaviest early vote turnout, with about 249,000 people showing up at the polls. 

To date, 38% of those who have voted are registered Democrats, 35% are unaffiliated and 26% are registered Republicans. 

The final days of the early voting period showed particularly strong unaffiliated voter turnout. In the last four days of early voting, unaffiliated voters outnumbered registered Democrats and registered Republicans. 

“The truly surprising dynamic to me is the rise of the early unaffiliated voter, something I and a number of colleagues have been tracking for many years now, but this year, their ‘showing up’ during early voting is pretty remarkable,” Catawba College political scientist Micheal Bitzer wrote on his Substack on Sunday.

On each day of early voting, more people voted this year than on the comparable day in 2022, Western Carolina University political scientist Chris Cooper wrote on his Substack. More people voted on a Sunday this year than they did in 2022, even though fewer counties had Sunday voting hours, Cooper wrote. 

Early voting statistics are not election forecasts. Registered Republicans typically outvote Democrats on Election Day. 

Early voting turnout so far shows enthusiasm among unaffiliated voters in NC

The early voting period is over. The last chance to vote will be on Tuesday, Election Day, when polls will be open from 6:30 am to 7:30 pm. Voters should go to their assigned polling place. 

Voters who have mail-in ballots can return them to their county board of elections office. Mail-in ballots that arrive after 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday will not be counted. The status of mail-in ballots can be checked using Ballottrax. 

People who requested mail-in ballots but haven’t returned them can vote in person. 

The U.S. Senate race is at the top of the ticket. Democrat Roy Cooper and Republican Michael Whatley are vying for the open seat.

The contest for one seat on the state Supreme Court, where incumbent Justice Anita Earls, a Democrat, faces former Republican legislator Sarah Stevens, will also be on every ballot. All voters will also be asked to fill three seats on the state Court of Appeals.

Voters will decide who will represent them in the state legislature and the U.S. House. 

Three proposed constitutional amendments are also on the ballot, two concerning taxes and one about voter ID.