More than 40% of registered voters in North Carolina have already cast their ballot in the Nov. 5 General Election.
The North Carolina Board of Election said Tuesday afternoon that more than 3 million people have voted.
Roja Zoppo Nielsen, 21, at the Weaverville Community Center, shared that this was her first time voting.
“Honestly, it feels kind of surreal. I feel like with the aftermath of hurricane Helene, politics was kind of the last thing that I was focusing on, you know?,” Nielsen said.
Nielsen said she was motivated in part by the importance of local politics.
“So much of how we operate is influenced by our local policies especially, and I think that even in a time of crisis, it's still important to show up and vote - or at the very least, show up in whatever community ways you can. I think that voting is a great way to push the policies that we want to see.”
The 2024 early voting turnout so far is similar to previous presidential elections, North Carolina political expert Chris Cooper explained. What differs, he said, is the number of early ballots.
Democrats used to be more likely to vote early, while Republicans waited until Election Day. So far, more voters are participating in early voting. Additionally, registered Republicans are currently outpacing registered Democrats, Cooper said.
“Republican turnout is besting Democratic turnout, in terms of raw numbers and in terms of percent of the registered voters,” Cooper said.
But two Western North Carolina counties are exceptions, Cooper said, with more than 5% more turnout by Democrats over Republicans: Transylvania and Buncombe counties.
In Transylvania County, as of Tuesday, the Democratic turnout was 5% higher and in Buncombe County Democratic turnout was 9% higher than Republican turnout.
“It looks like at least in that one county in the west Democrats are really mobilizing their voters, better than the Republicans - the vast majority of other counties as the other way around,” Cooper said.
Molly Zenker is one of those Democratic voters in Buncombe County. At the early voting site, she said the top four issues for her are women’s rights, climate change, healthcare and the economy.
“I think every time you should vote, but I think that right now is substantially more important than normal. We're fighting for, coming together in this country and I think like right now with Trump specifically I feel like he's very divisive and I think that we need to move away from that,” Zenker said, “So in voting, I feel like I'm trying to let my voice be heard and as I'm in line, I'm texting my girlfriends and my my nieces and making sure that they're voting to because I think all too right now is really important time for younger people to be voting.”
Regardless of the turnout comparison between parties, the majority of voters in the state and in Western North Carolina are registered unaffiliated. Cooper said these voters always lag behind registered party voters but currently turnout by unaffiliated voters is higher than usual.
“The turnout among unaffiliated voters is looking a little bit better than we're used to. It is still below the two major parties, but from what it's been in past years, it does appear like these unaffiliated voters are a little bit more engaged than they have been in previous elections,” Cooper said.
Effects of the storm: The Helene 13
The state Board of Election designated 13 counties impacted by Hurricane Helene to receive greater flexibility around adding, changing or updating early voting sites or hours. Registered voters (or their near relatives or verifiable legal guardians) may hand-deliver their completed absentee ballot to another North Carolina county’s Board of Elections office or the State Board office so long as it is received by 7:30 pm on Election Day. Here is more information about voting in those counties.
There has been concern about turnout in these counties, but Cooper said turnout is consistent with the other neighboring counties.
“We're seeing that the Helene affected counties, the Helene 13, are having turnout numbers that are about the same as the rest of the state,” Cooper said.
Early voting continues through Nov. 2. During early voting, same-day registration is available. If you didn’t get a chance to register before the Oct. 11 deadline, early voting is your last chance to register to vote.
Cooper said he expects more people will turnout to vote at the end of the early voting period.
“People tend to turn out at the very beginning and huge numbers and there's a dip kind of in the middle and then you see a little pop at the end as people realize, ‘hey, we're almost the last day of early voting here,’” Cooper said.
Monique Clark of Asheville said voting is an opportunity for change.
“Everybody should vote because you cannot have change without a vote. And if you don't vote, you can't complain about what's going on,” Clark said.
