RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina voters have already turned in more than half a million ballots in the first days of early voting for the Nov. 3 midterm election, a faster start than the state saw at the same point in 2022.
The tally passed 500,000 as of Saturday. In-person early voting opened statewide on Oct. 15 at 370 sites and continues until 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31. Voters who missed the regular registration deadline can still register and cast a ballot on the same day at an early voting site in their county.
Early voting has become the main way many North Carolinians vote in big general elections. State election officials say 74% of voters cast ballots during the early period in the 2024 general election, compared with 53% in the 2022 midterms.
Not every county opened sites on Sunday. Wake and Durham counties did, and both reported more Sunday voters than at the same point four years ago.
Much of the attention is on the U.S. Senate race between former Gov. Roy Cooper and Republican Michael Whatley, with Cooper holding a steady lead in public polling. Republicans are also focused on two competitive U.S. House seats: the mountain-based 11th District and the eastern 1st District. In the 1st, Republican Laurie Buckhout is challenging Democratic Rep. Don Davis.
National Republicans are heading to the state to energize their voters. Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to appear in Hendersonville on Monday. President Donald Trump is set to visit Greenville a day later.
Key dates remain for voters who have not cast a ballot. The deadline to request an absentee ballot is 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20. Election Day voting at assigned precincts starts at 6:30 a.m. and wraps up at 7:30 p.m., and mailed absentee ballots must arrive by 7:30 p.m. that day.
Section: More Greensboro NC politics news
Filed under: Greensboro NC Politics News
