A line stretches outside of the Scotland County Board of Elections office Friday on day of two in-person early voting.
Tomeka Sinclair | The Laurinburg Exchange
Candidates and poll workers were busy outside the Scotland County Board of Elections Friday on day two of in-person early voting in North Carolina.
Tomeka Sinclair | The Laurinburg Exchange
Candidates and poll workers were busy outside the Scotland County Board of Elections Friday on day two of in-person early voting in North Carolina.
LAURINBURG —In-person early voting in Scotland County was off to a strong start on Thursday with 1,458 voters casting their ballots, representing about 6% of the county’s registered voters.
Friday morning, the momentum continued as a line stretched outside of the Scotland County Board of Elections office with more residents seeking to vote.
”I was very excited to see that voters were coming out to cast their ballots. I am just hoping that the turnout will continue to be heavy,” said Dell Parker, the Scotland County Board of Elections director.
Parker said that this time four years ago, 1,114 of Scotland County’s residents turned out to vote on the first day of early voting, demonstrating an increase of more that 300 voters.
The Laurinburg Exchange in partnership with the League of Women Voters, has provided a Voter Guide, that is available inside this edition.
Statewide voters turned out in droves on the weather-friendly first day of the in-person early voting period on Thursday, setting a first-day record of 353,166 ballots accepted at sites statewide, according to preliminary State Board of Elections data.
The early voting numbers topped the previous record for the first day of early voting — 348,559, set in 2020 — by 1.3%.
Every morning, the State Board posts PDF reports of early and absentee voting in the Absentee and Provisional Data section of ncsbe.gov.
Throughout the day Thursday, the State Board received reports of lines at early voting sites across the state. Despite the turnout, no significant issues or problems were reported to the State Board.
“(Thursday’s) turnout is a clear sign that voters are energized about this election, that they trust the elections process, and that a hurricane will not stop North Carolinians from exercising their right to vote,” said Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the State Board of Elections. “Let’s keep it rolling, North Carolina.”
As of Friday morning, 428,299 voters had cast ballots in North Carolina. This includes 75,133 absentee ballots cast.
Election officials expect more in-person voting this year than in 2020, when a record 18% of voters cast their ballots by mail due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In-person early voting continues through Saturday, November 2 at 419 sites statewide. The State Board urges voters to review three important tips about early voting:
— Early voting locations. Eligible voters may cast a ballot at any early voting site in their county. For sites and hours in all 100 counties, use the Early Voting Sites Search tool. Also see Early Voting Sites for the Nov. 5, 2024 General Election..
— Candidate info. Sample ballots are available through the Voter Search tool. For information on candidates for the state Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, see the State Board’s Judicial Voter Guide: 2024 General Election. The State Board does not provide information on candidate positions other than the judicial voter guide, but there are many media and other sources for that information.
— Bring your photo ID. Voters will be asked to show photo ID when they check in to vote. Most voters will show their driver’s license, but many other forms of photo ID will be accepted. Voters who do not have photo ID can meet the photo ID requirement by either (1) filling out a form explaining why they are unable to show ID, or (2) showing their ID at the county board of elections office by 5 p.m. Nov. 14. More information about the photo ID requirement is available at BringItNC.gov.