US state of North Carolina sees record early voting ahead of presidential election

ANKARA

Early voting in the US state of North Carolina surged to a record high ahead of the presidential election on Nov. 5, with more than 4.2 million residents casting ballots in person as of Sunday.

North Carolina, one of the battleground states crucial to the election's outcome, has seen particularly high turnout in its western regions, which were recently hit by Hurricane Helene.

In total, 57% of registered voters across the state have already cast their ballots at polling stations.

According to official data from the North Carolina State Board of Elections, current in-person early voting numbers have surpassed the record set during the 2020 presidential election, when 3.63 million residents voted early.

Officials also said that processing delays might mean actual voter participation could be even higher than reported.

The University of Florida’s Election Laboratory has reported that over 75 million votes have been cast nationwide ahead of the election, with more than 40 million of these cast in person and approximately 34 million through mail-in ballots.

*Writing by Alperen Aktas from Istanbul