10/18/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/18/2024 09:36
North Carolina voters turned out in droves on the weather-friendly first day of the in-person early voting period on Thursday, setting a first-day record of 353,166 ballots accepted at sites statewide, according to preliminary State Board of Elections data.
The early voting numbers topped the previous record for the first day of early voting - 348,559, set in 2020 - by 1.3 percent.
[Sources: 2020 absentee file (ZIP), 2024 absentee counts file (CSV)]
Every morning, the State Board posts PDF reports of early and absentee voting in the Absentee and Provisional Data section of ncsbe.gov.
Throughout the day Thursday, the State Board received reports of lines at early voting sites across the state. Despite the turnout, no significant issues or problems were reported to the State Board.
"Yesterday's turnout is a clear sign that voters are energized about this election, that they trust the elections process, and that a hurricane will not stop North Carolinians from exercising their right to vote," said Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the State Board of Elections. "Let's keep it rolling, North Carolina."
As of Friday morning, 428,299 voters had cast ballots in North Carolina. This includes 75,133 absentee ballots cast.
Election officials expect more in-person voting this year than in 2020, when a record 18% of voters cast their ballots by mail due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In-person early voting continues through Saturday, November 2 at 419 sites statewide. The State Board urges voters to review three important tips about early voting below:
For more early voting tips, go to 10 Tips for NC Voters as Early Voting Begins This Week.
For voters affected by Hurricane Helene, please visit ncsbe.gov/Helene. This includes information about how to request an absentee ballot to be delivered to a new location, if you've been displaced, and how to track that ballot. It also includes information on special provisions for these disaster-affected voters only, including how to deliver your absentee ballot to any early voting or elections office in the state.
Please also see our new Infosheet: Options for Voters Affected by Helene (PDF).