Nov. 4 (UPI) — Voters in North Carolina set a new record for early voting ahead of Tuesday’s presidential election, state election officials said Monday.
North Carolina’s State Board of Elections reported that roughly 4.5 million of the state’s 7.8 million registered voters have so far cast their ballot during the state’s in-person early voting period, which ended Saturday.
This means 57% of eligible voters in North Carolina voted early, including absentee voters.
Officials added that the 25 western North Carolina counties impacted by Hurricane Helene, voting “continue to outpace the rest of the state in voter turnout.”
Voter turnout in the 25 hurricane-affected western North Carolina counties through Saturday was pushing 59%, which the board said was about 2% higher than the statewide turnout.
Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, said Monday she was “especially proud” of those particular voters and election workers who were impacted by recent storms.
“You are an inspiration to us all,” she said.
This tabulation, according to the board, “easily topped” 2020’s early voting record of more than 3.6 million ballots cast that year.
State officials, however, emphasized the current tallies “may be slightly lower than the actual turnout,” adding that there is “a lag” between when a voter casts a ballot and when a county uploads new data.
“I am proud of all of our 100 county boards of elections and the thousands of election workers who are making this happen in their communities,” Bell said.
Earlier this month, the state’s board of elections reported 353,166 voters cast a ballot in North Carolina’s first day of early voting. That exceeded the 348,599 votes cast in 2020 on the first day of early voting, and it was more than double the number cast on the first day in 2016.
On Wednesday, the North Carolina Court of Appeals unanimously rejected a Republican National Committee legal challenge to certain overseas and military absentee ballots in the RNC’s effort to limit ballot counting in battleground states, including Pennsylvania, ahead of Tuesday’s presidential election.
On Monday, former President Donald Trump will be in Raleigh for a campaign rally in a final pitch to voters.
Polls will be open in North Carolina from 6:30 a.m. EST to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. State official add that any voter in line at 7:30 p.m. will still be able to cast a ballot.