Recent data from the North Carolina Board of Elections reveals that registered Republicans in the state are currently leading in early voting compared to Democrats. As of Friday, over 1.4 million (59.95%) registered Republicans have already cast their early votes, surpassing the 1.35 million (55.19%) early votes from registered Democrats in this battleground state. This marks a significant shift from the previous election cycle, where Democrats had a lead of over a million early votes.
Recognizing the importance of early voting, Republicans in North Carolina have actively encouraged their supporters to participate in early voting this year. This strategic approach seems to have paid off, as the state witnessed a record turnout on the first day of early voting on October 17th, with 353,000 registered voters casting their ballots.
In response to the high demand for early voting, the North Carolina Elections Board took bipartisan action by passing an emergency resolution. This resolution aimed to enhance the early voting process in 13 counties by making changes such as adding or modifying voting sites, extending hours of operation, and adjusting the availability of voting sites throughout the early voting period.
As of the latest data available on Friday, approximately 53.33% of all expected ballots for the 2024 election have already been cast in North Carolina. With in-person early voting set to conclude on Saturday, the state continues to see active participation from voters across party lines.
