Data from election officials in North Carolina shows that 1.6 million voters have cast ballots at early voting sites since the start of this year’s 18-day early voting period.
That’s about half a million more than the number of those who voted early in the last midterm election, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
In Mecklenburg County, Michael Dickerson, director of the Board of Elections expects the early voting numbers to double 2014’s by Saturday. “I suspect we’ll be over 180 - 185,000, that will have voted early and four years ago we only did 91,000," he said.
Even absentee ballots by mail are up 35 percent.
The turnout is higher, even though North Carolina doesn't have any statewide races on the ballot like it did in 2014, Dickerson doesn't know what the difference is, but he has one theory."There's been a really big push," he said. "Everybody has been contacted and notified that there is a midterm election."
"Part of it is that we have some really good races in this county and in this state. There are people really enthusiastic about this midterm."
Early voting ends Saturday, Nov. 3. Election day for the 2018 midterms is Tuesday, Nov. 6.
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