More than 38% of eligible voters in Wake County opted for in-person early voting between October 15 and 31. That’s about three times the turnout for early voting for the primary in March, which was a little over 12%.
The number of early voters in Wake County surpassed the last time a general election didn’t have a presidential candidate on the ballot, otherwise known as a midterm election for its timing at the midpoint of a president’s term.
The 2022 midterm elections had 219,490 early voters turn out in Wake County, exceeded by this year’s 334,127 unofficial total ballots cast.
Here’s what else to know about the unofficial results from early voting:
A higher percentage of registered Democrats turned out to vote early. The highest percentage of registered voters in Wake County are unaffiliated and the highest number of ballots cast were by unaffiliated voters. However, registered Democrats represented 41.3% of in-person early voting ballots, a notably higher percentage than the 32.9% of registered voters who are Democrats in Wake County.
- Unaffiliated voters represented 41.7% of early voting ballots compared to the 46.5% of total registered voters in Wake County who are unaffiliated.
- Registered Republicans represented 16.6% of early voting ballots compared to the nearly 20% of voters who are registered with the party in Wake County.
In North Carolina House District 37, one of the most closely watched races between incumbent Rep. Erin Paré and Democratic challenger Winn Decker, 32,711 voters have already cast a ballot. It’s the highest turnout by N.C. House District in Wake County.
Western Wake early voting sites were among the busiest for voters. In order, the top five sites were:
- John M. Brown Community Center in Apex, 28,351 early voters.
- Cary Senior Center, 27,670 early voters.
- Lake Lynn Community Center (northwest Raleigh), 26,586 early voters.
- Abbott’s Creek Community Center (northeast Raleigh), 25,226 early voters.
- Herbert C. Young Community Center in Cary, 24,433 early voters.
Wake County voters could choose any early voting site in the county to cast a ballot.
Election Day Live Coverage
See more Triangle-wide Election Day updates from our fellow Assembly Network newsroom INDY:
Check back for results at westernwakenc.com.
