Early Vote Day Report: Day 17
Data through Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026
Snapshot
After 17 days of early voting, North Carolinians have cast 2,816,821 ballots in person and by mail, 31% more than at the same point in 2022. 46.3% of registered Democrats have voted, against 31.6% of registered Republicans, a 14.7-point turnout edge. At this point in 2022 the gap was 2.5. 193,380 voted in person on Saturday, 14% more than on 2022's seventeenth day of early voting (169,019).
What 17 days of early voting show
- Democrats' ballot lead grew every day. It stands at 343,549, against 147,251 at this point in 2022. 66% of it came in the first seven days, but the last six days still added 57,373, against 48,929 in the same days of 2022.
- Unaffiliated voters drove the growth. 990,783 have voted, up 52% from this point in 2022 and more than half of all the growth in ballots. They out-voted Democrats on each of the last four days.
- Occasional voters came out, mostly not Republicans. Among sporadic and unlikely voters, Democrats more than doubled from this point in 2022 (254,918) and unaffiliated voters nearly did (247,525), while Republicans fell 9% (108,761). Republican base voters ran ahead of 2022, 45.8% to 41.8%. Ballots from voters under 30 are up 79%, Black voters 48% and Hispanic voters 190%, against 31% overall.
- The first numbers Tuesday will not be the last. Early and mail votes post first, and they will come in quickly. In 2022, registered Republicans out-voted registered Democrats by 177,807 on Election Day, erasing the 147,251-ballot lead Democrats took out of early voting. Polls close at 7:30 p.m. Follow the count at elections.majorityrisingnc.org.
- Republicans would need a far bigger Election Day than 2022's. To erase a 343,549-ballot lead, they would have to out-vote Democrats by 93% more than in 2022. They have the voters to try: 742,260 Republican base voters have not voted, against 412,366 Democrats. Unaffiliated voters, 35% of ballots, decide the rest; those with a primary record lean Democratic, 305,406 to 217,864.
