Voters in storm-ravaged western North Carolina counties showed up to vote early at a higher rate than the statewide average, assuaging fears that Hurricane Helene’s destruction on the area, which is heavily Republican, would negatively affect turnout.
Early voting turnout in North Carolina set a record this year as more than 4.2 million people cast their ballots at early in-person locations before Election Day, according to the State Board of Elections, The Hill reported. The board added that the 25 counties affected by Helene saw a higher early voter turnout — 58.9% — than the statewide turnout, which was around 57%.
“I am proud of all of our 100 county boards of elections and the thousands of election workers who are making this happen in their communities,” said Executive Director of the State Board of Election Karen Brinson Bell. “And I am especially proud of the workers and voters of Western North Carolina. You are an inspiration to us all.”
Including absentee voting, North Carolina reported receiving nearly 4.5 million early votes as of Sunday morning. Early in-person voting in the state ended on Saturday afternoon. As of last Thursday, registered Republicans held a slight lead in total early votes cast in North Carolina, an important battleground state in the 2024 election. Unaffiliated voters surpassed registered Republicans in the final early vote tally, but Republicans beat out registered Democrats by over 40,000 early votes, DecisionDeskHQ’s Michael Pruser reported.
North Carolina Early Voting Final Update – 11.03
The state wrapped up its 17-day early voting period, and the current tally of 4.44 million votes represents roughly 80% of the expected electorate.
🟡Others – 1,524,456
🔴Republicans – 1,478,746
🔵Democrats – 1,437,281Others… pic.twitter.com/jGn8j7Gz9U
— Michael Pruser (@MichaelPruser) November 3, 2024
While the early voting numbers aren’t necessarily accurate predictions of who will win the state, they suggest that Republicans are off to a good start in North Carolina. Pruser added that Democrats could see an uptick in votes as absentee ballots continue to “roll in over the next three days,” but he said that among Election Day voters, “we’ll likely see an ever-so-slightly whiter, more Republican, and more male vote than the first 4.44 million voters.”
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Both former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have campaigned heavily in North Carolina in recent weeks as polls show a dead-heat between the two candidates. Trump won the state in both 2016 and 2020.
Bell said on Friday that officials in North Carolina are optimistic that all final results would be submitted by around midnight on Election Day.
