By Frank Taylor
Originally published on Carolina Public Press.
North Carolina voters turned out early in massive numbers compared with the early voting turnout for the last midterm elections in 2014, according to the state Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement.
The state elections agency released data over the weekend providing a detailed breakdown of how many people have voted in each county. Statewide, 2.04 million out of 7.09 million registered voters have cast ballots so far, about 28.8 percent.
Unlike 2016, few statewide candidate contests are on the ballot this year, with only a few races for state Supreme Court and Court of Appeals seats appearing on all ballots. All voters will decide on General Assembly and congressional races, but not all of these races are contested, and not all of those are considered competitive.
North Carolina voters do face decisions on six proposed constitutional amendments on topics ranging from voter ID to hunting rights. These may be playing a role in driving turnout.
Some voters may be concerned about the direction of national politics and planning to make their positions known with votes for Congress and the political party of their choice in state and local contests. Some may be motivated by the direction of state government.
Some of the most fiercely competitive races this year will be county- or district-level contests for sheriffs, judges, county commissioners, clerks of court, registers of deeds, school boards and some other local offices.
Following is a look at each county. Early voting totals include all types of absentee ballots, including mail-ins and one-stop voters. One-stop voting ended midday Saturday. Mail-in votes continue to arrive at elections offices, so totals will go up in coming days.
Early voting numbers
Alamance: 31,517 early voters of 103,140 registered voters, 30.6 percent
Alexander: 8,411 of 24,547, 34.3 percent
Alleghany: 2,999 of 7,473, 40.1 percent
Anson: 3,812 of 17,415, 21.9 percent
Ashe: 5,827 of 19,285, 30.2 percent
Avery: 2,010 of 12,056, 16.7 percent
Beaufort: 10,490 of 33,563, 31.3 percent
Bertie: 2,901 of 14,217, 20.4 percent
Bladen: 7,084 of 23,276, 30.4 percent
Brunswick: 45,418 of 103,161, 44 percent
Buncombe: 80,109 of 198,739, 40.3 percent
Burke: 17,179 of 58,593, 29.3 percent
Cabarrus: 34,834 of 138,296, 25.2 percent
Caldwell: 16,040 of 55,001, 29.2 percent
Camden: 2,099 of 7,900, 26.6 percent
Carteret: 15,244 of 53,167, 28.7 percent
Caswell: 3,988 of 15,764, 25.3 percent
Catawba: 31,037 of 105,593, 29.4 percent
Chatham: 24,229 of 54,127, 44.8 percent
Cherokee: 5,354 of 23,450, 22.8 percent
Chowan: 3,266 of 10,340, 31.6 percent
Clay: 3,142 of 8,700, 36.1 percent
Cleveland: 17,973 of 64,929, 27.7 percent
Columbus: 8,571 of 37,772, 22.7 percent
Craven: 19,880 of 70,175, 28.3 percent
Cumberland: 48,494 of 220,183, 22.0 percent
Currituck: 3,200 of 20,056, 15.6 percent
Dare: 8,620 of 30,306, 28.4 percent
Davidson: 30,557 of 109,079, 28.0 percent
Davie: 9,142 of 29,924, 30.6 percent
Duplin: 6,201 of 30,427, 20.4 percent
Durham: 82,468 of 230,991, 35.7 percent
Edgecombe: 9,544 of 38,493, 24.8 percent
Forsyth: 78,657 of 262,445, 30.0 percent
Franklin: 14,839 of 44,875, 33.1 percent
Gaston: 38,699 of 145,747, 26.6 percent
Gates: 1,525 of 8,777, 17.4 percent
Graham: 2,155 of 6,440, 33.5 percent
Granville: 12,752 of 39,174, 32.6 percent
Greene: 3,306 of 11,539, 28.7 percent
Guilford: 104,490 of 377,331, 27.7 percent
Halifax: 5,519 of 39,020, 14.1 percent
Harnett: 20,268 of 76,439, 26.5 percent
Haywood: 14,729 of 45,042, 37.0 percent
Henderson: 27,035 of 85,919, 31.5 percent
Hertford: 2,862 of 15,564, 18.4 percent
Hoke: 7,607 of 33,089, 23.0 percent
Hyde: 493 of 3,423, 14.4 percent
Iredell: 34,965 of 121,534, 28.8 percent
Jackson: 9,552 of 29,241, 32.7 percent
Johnston: 32,292 of 128,752, 25.1 percent
Jones: 1,553 of 7,327, 21.2 percent
Lee: 12,814 of 36,979, 34.7 percent
Lenoir: 12,469 of 38,758, 32.2 percent
Lincoln: 16,303 of 58,275, 28.0 percent
Macon: 9,252 of 26,342, 35.1 percent
Madison: 5,644 of 17,273, 32.7 percent
Martin: 3,933 of 17,089, 23.0 percent
McDowell: 7,724 of 29,644, 26.1 percent
Mecklenburg: 208,662 of 742,458, 28.1 percent
Mitchell: 3,854 of 11,116, 34.7 percent
Montgomery: 3,796 of 16,654, 22.8 percent
Moore: 20,300 of 68,492, 29.6 percent
Nash: 20,747 of 67,224, 30.9 percent
New Hanover: 54,616 of 172,320, 31.7 percent
Northamption: 2,751 of 14,605, 18.8 percent
Onslow: 15,365 of 109,476, 14.0 percent
Orange: 43,674 of 114,878, 38.0 percent
Pamlico: 2,966 of 9,778, 30.3 percent
Pasquotank: 8,547 of 29,288, 29.2 percent
Pender: 12,737 of 41,735, 30.5 percent
Perquimans: 3,109 of 10,157, 30.6 percent
Person: 8,046 of 26,909, 29.9 percent
Pitt: 33,164 of 124,886, 26.6 percent
Polk: 5,788 of 16,170, 35.8 percent
Randolph: 26,946 of 92,336, 29.2 percent
Richmond: 6,908 of 30,466, 22.7 percent
Robeson: 13,974 of 77,304, 18.1 percent
Rockingham: 18,709 of 60,560, 30.9 percent
Rowan: 23,591 of 95,949, 24.6 percent
Rutherford: 11,524 of 45,342, 25.4 percent
Sampson: 8,563 of 38,401, 22.3 percent
Scotland: 6,508 of 22,928, 28.4 percent
Stanly: 9,578 of 41,871, 22.9 percent
Stokes: 7,806 of 31,350, 24.9 percent
Surry: 12,586 of 46,066, 27.3 percent
Swain: 3,335 of 10,438, 32.9 percent
Transylvania: 9,991 of 26,181, 38.2 percent
Tyrrell: 614 of 2,420, 25.4 percent
Union: 51,075 of 157,263, 32.5 percent
Vance: 8,577 of 30,342, 28.3 percent
Wake: 212,445 of 741,286, 28.7 percent
Warren: 3,681 of 13,612, 27.0 percent
Washington: 2,467 of 8,813, 28.0 percent
Watauga: 15,766 of 47,596, 33.1 percent
Wayne: 22,637 of 75,689, 29.9 percent
Wilkes: 9,310 of 43,058, 21.6 percent
Wilson: 15,793 of 56,690, 27.9 percent
Yadkin: 4,236 of 24,214, 17.5 percent
Yancey: 6,007 of 14,322, 41.9 percent
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