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[Election 2024] SoDu Snapshot: Early Voting Participation Tops 2016 and Growing

[Election 2024] SoDu Snapshot: Early Voting Participation Tops 2016 and Growing

Here’s a quick snapshot of early voting in Durham with just a few days left:

Statewide, 3,368,358 voters – about 43% of eligible North Carolina voters – have cast ballots before Nov. 5’s general election. That already exceeds early voting participation in 2016 and is coming close to matching or exceeding early voting numbers from 2020, which saw a significant increase in voting by mail due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s also worth noting that the high turnout numbers are even though absentee voting started later this year due to a court decision to require that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name from ballots.

Currently, Democrats hold a narrow lead over Republicans in voter registrations, but Republicans so far have turned out more voters throughout North Carolina – 1,148,620 compared to 1,106,300 Democrats. However, unaffiliated voters remain a massive contingent – 1,093,058 – in the early voting process.

Still need to vote? The Durham County Board of Elections provides an online tracker that offers a decent estimate of how long you can expect to stand in line to fill out both sides of your ballot.