The North Carolina State Board of Elections has reported that as of Thursday afternoon, there have been 209,644 early voting ballots cast. It is important to note that this number is not final as voting is still ongoing, and not all counties have been included in this count. Therefore, it is challenging to make a direct comparison to previous years. However, based on the numbers available so far, it appears that the state is on track to match or even surpass the early voting turnout seen in 2020.
The state election board is expected to release a more comprehensive update on today's early voting numbers on Friday morning. Looking back at the first full day of early voting for past federal elections in North Carolina, the numbers are as follows:
