Early voting surging in North Carolina as primary election draws near

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The primary election is just 8 days away, and early voting has seen a surge throughout North Carolina.

According to a study done by Dr. Michael Bitzer, a political scientist at Catawba College, more than 320,000 early voting ballots have already been accepted, a more than 15 percent increase compared to the last primary election in 20-24.

The study highlights a massive difference in voter turnout between parties. Democrats are already 47 percent ahead of their numbers in 2024, while Republicans are 11 percent down.

Bitzer said the Democrats could be driven due to former governor Roy Cooper running for the Senate seat left open by Thom Tillis.

“With a former North Carolina governor who is very popular, he has won all of his statewide races,” Bitzer said. “And national Democrats wanted him as the candidate for this open seat election, because they believe Roy Cooper brings the best opportunity to flip this seat.”

Bitzer said he has been surprised by which party early voters who are unaffiliated are voting for.

“More unaffliateds are going Democratic than they are Republican, and that seems to indicate to me that there is a center left, real enthusiasm and energy level. The opposition to the President is going to be energized and mobilized. The President’s party may be energized but not as much.”

But this doesn’t mean that Republicans are not taking part in early voting.

The study shows the most common areas where Republicans are casting their ballots early.

“And on the Republican side, we see a pretty, you know, healthy percentage of ballots for the Republicans being pulled in a place like Brunswick County. Counties that surround urban counties are the most Republican counties in general elections. They are more Republican than rural counties.”

Bitzer added that he expects a record number of ballots to be accepted by the time the early voting period ends.

The early voting period ends on Saturday, February 28th.

But Bitzer said the majority of people voting in this year’s primary election will do it on election day on March 3rd.