RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA — North Carolina set a new midterm early-voting record this year, with more than 2.8 million people casting ballots before Election Day, including mail ballots. That represents roughly 36% of the state’s registered voters and significantly exceeds turnout at the same stage of the 2022 midterms.
Registered Democrats accounted for about 38% of ballots cast, while unaffiliated voters made up roughly 35%. Republicans accounted for about 26%, meaning Democrats and unaffiliated voters combined for approximately 73% of the early vote.
The strongest surprise may be the unaffiliated vote. North Carolina’s unaffiliated registration has grown steadily and now represents about 40% of registered voters statewide. During the final four days of early voting, unaffiliated voters outnumbered both Democrats and Republicans.
Saturday, the final day of in-person early voting, was also the busiest, with roughly 249,000 people voting. Overall early turnout was about 30% higher than in the 2022 midterms.
Still, the partisan breakdown should not be interpreted as an election forecast. Party registration does not reveal how someone actually voted, particularly among unaffiliated voters, and Republicans in North Carolina have historically cast a larger share of their ballots on Election Day.
The state’s Nov. 3 ballot includes the open U.S. Senate race between Democrat Roy Cooper and Republican Michael Whatley, a North Carolina Supreme Court contest, all 14 U.S. House seats, state legislative races and three proposed constitutional amendments.
North Carolina polling places will be open Tuesday from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. Voters casting ballots on Election Day must use their assigned precinct.
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