More than 10% of all registered voters in North Carolina have already requested an absentee ballot for the November election, according to the State Board of Elections, a 1,400% increase compared with the same time in the 2016 election cycle. And the number will certainly increase before the Oct. 27 deadline to request an absentee ballot. The uptick in requests is attributed to concerns about voting in-person during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As of Sept. 11, 23,443 ballots had been returned, or about 3% of the total 758,057 requested.
Curious about whether your ballot has been received? Ballottrax will tell you its status. The State Board of Elections website also provides daily totals and updates, as well has historical voting data.
7,119,067 — Number of registered voters in NC
758,057 — Number of absentee ballots requested, 2020
50,425 — Absentee ballots requested, at the same time, 2016
23,443 — Absentee ballots returned, as of Sept. 12, 2020
22,709 — Ballots accepted
458 — Ballots designated “witness info incomplete”
256 — Ballots designated “spoiled.” Voters can spoil their ballots for several reasons, including requests from college students who had asked for them to be sent to their dorms, but who left the dorm because of the pandemic.
4 — Designated “returned undeliverable”
3 — Designated as “conflict”
8 — Designated as “pending”
13 — Reason not given
3 — Duplicate
1 — Signature different
789 — Overseas ballots cast
171 — Military ballots cast
388,711 — Absentee ballots requested by Democrats, 2020
239,325 — Requested by unaffilliated voters
127, 226 — By Republicans
2,303 — By Libertarians
333 — By Green Party members
159 — By Constitution Party members
50 — Days until Election Day, Nov. 3
43 — Days to request an absentee ballot, Oct. 27
31 — Days until in-person early voting begins, Oct. 15
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