RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina’s early voting turnout reflects a nearly even distribution among Democratic, Republican, and unaffiliated voters, with unaffiliated voters making up the largest share of those who have cast ballots. As of the latest data, a total of 4,452,192 North Carolinians have voted early through in-person and mail-in ballots.
Total Early Voting by Party Registration
The breakdown of early voting shows a close balance across party lines, with unaffiliated voters leading slightly:
- Democrats: 1,441,289 votes (32.4%)
- Republicans: 1,482,061 votes (33.3%)
- None/Minor Parties: 1,528,842 votes (34.3%)
These figures indicate that unaffiliated voters have made up the largest portion of early ballots cast, followed closely by Republicans and then Democrats.
In-Person Early Voting
The majority of early votes were cast in person, with 4,208,727 North Carolinians voting at early voting sites. In-person early voting also showed a similar distribution:
- Democrats: 1,355,883 votes (32.2%)
- Republicans: 1,417,987 votes (33.7%)
- None/Minor Parties: 1,434,857 votes (34.1%)
Unaffiliated voters again made up the largest share, closely followed by Republicans, with Democrats slightly behind.
Mail Ballot Returns
In addition to in-person voting, North Carolinians also returned 243,465 mail ballots. The breakdown by party shows a slight lead for unaffiliated voters in mail ballot returns as well:
- Democrats: 85,406 ballots returned (35.1% of mail ballots)
- Republicans: 64,074 ballots returned (26.3%)
- None/Minor Parties: 93,985 ballots returned (38.6%)
Out of the 462,666 mail ballots requested, 52.6% have been returned so far. Democrats have the highest return rate, with 53.4% of requested ballots returned, followed by Republicans at 54.3%, and unaffiliated/minor party voters at 50.9%.
Summary
North Carolina’s early voting turnout highlights a competitive landscape, with almost equal participation from Democrats, Republicans, and unaffiliated voters. Unaffiliated voters, who are not tied to a specific party, make up the largest segment of early voters in both in-person and mail-in categories, suggesting they could play a pivotal role in the election’s outcome.
Election officials remind North Carolinians that these are ballots returned, not votes counted, as counting will begin on Election Day. With the strong turnout already recorded, final results will depend heavily on Election Day turnout and remaining mail-in ballots.
