Early Voting has started, but that is no reason for us to glide to November 5. We MUST keep focused on canvassing, calling, still postcarding. Be active, we have a state and nation to defend.
There is no good history to compare. Who voted early really isn’t a good indication of who will vote later, nor a good approximation of final composition of the electorate.
One thing for sure, don’t equate long lines as sign of stellar turnout. Heard urban NC had some extreme lines yesterday. But it is rural NC punched way above its weight in the first day.
Thanks for these stats…I’ve been waiting to see anything regarding the turnout. Our normal early voting location in Pinehurst was not available this year, and now in all of Moore County there are only TWO places to vote early. I waited in line for about 70 minutes just to get inside the door as did my husband who went about two hours earlier than I did. The family in front of me as well as the group of folks behind me were all Harris voters, so that was nice. This year there are twice as many Harris signs than trump signs in my neighborhood and much fewer trump signs overall. Perhaps people are too embarrassed to admit they support him. Hoping for 2008 energy! Speaking of which, how do we compare to 2008 stats?
"In the 2008 and 2012 general elections, roughly 56% of the state’s total ballots came from early voting. That number jumped to 62% in 2016 and 65% in the 2020 general election, according to the state Board of Elections."
Personally, I am encouraged by the gender gap in early voting showing higher intensity for women. Please check out:
Early Voting has started, but that is no reason for us to glide to November 5. We MUST keep focused on canvassing, calling, still postcarding. Be active, we have a state and nation to defend.
Like you said, "don't panic. Vote."
The horse race instead of the stakes? The most useful part readers should pay attention to is your last word: VOTE.
There is no good history to compare. Who voted early really isn’t a good indication of who will vote later, nor a good approximation of final composition of the electorate.
One thing for sure, don’t equate long lines as sign of stellar turnout. Heard urban NC had some extreme lines yesterday. But it is rural NC punched way above its weight in the first day.
Thanks for these stats…I’ve been waiting to see anything regarding the turnout. Our normal early voting location in Pinehurst was not available this year, and now in all of Moore County there are only TWO places to vote early. I waited in line for about 70 minutes just to get inside the door as did my husband who went about two hours earlier than I did. The family in front of me as well as the group of folks behind me were all Harris voters, so that was nice. This year there are twice as many Harris signs than trump signs in my neighborhood and much fewer trump signs overall. Perhaps people are too embarrassed to admit they support him. Hoping for 2008 energy! Speaking of which, how do we compare to 2008 stats?
The NC state board of elections publishes lots of historical data on their website:
https://www.ncsbe.gov/results-data
Early voting has trended upward since 2008 per this article (https://carolinapublicpress.org/56769/early-voting-in-north-carolina-how-it-started-who-uses-it-and-how-to-do-it-in-2022/):
"In the 2008 and 2012 general elections, roughly 56% of the state’s total ballots came from early voting. That number jumped to 62% in 2016 and 65% in the 2020 general election, according to the state Board of Elections."
Personally, I am encouraged by the gender gap in early voting showing higher intensity for women. Please check out:
* https://targetearly.targetsmart.com/g2024 for the national view
* https://targetearly.targetsmart.com/g2024?state=NC&view_type=state for NC view
* https://targetearly.targetsmart.com/g2024?view_type=PresBS for Presidential battleground
* https://targetearly.targetsmart.com/g2024?view_type=SenateBS for Senate battleground
Ooooh! Thank you for these nuggets! I ❤️ numbers🙋🏼♀️