North Carolina Shatters Its Early Voting Record

Over 4.2 million North Carolinians cast ballots at early in-person voting sites, surpassing the previous early-voting record set in 2020. The North Carolina State Board of Elections reported on Sunday that turnout in the western counties affected by Hurricane Helene outpaced that in the rest of the state. Early in-person voting concluded on Saturday.

By Thursday, days before early voting ended, North Carolina had already exceeded the 3.63 million early-voter mark set four years ago. Including absentee ballots, the total voter turnout rose to 4,465,548 by Sunday morning, representing 57% of the state's 7.8 million registered voters. Officials explained that numbers could end up being even higher, due to data processing delays. Particularly notable was the turnout of 58.9% in the 25 hurricane-stricken western counties. The surge in early voting is partially credited to a strategic push by Republicans encouraging constituents to vote early. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)