Murphy – Voting for the 2024 general election began Thursday, with 2,493 votes cast in Cherokee County as of Monday morning – including 2,256 cast through in-person early voting.
As of Monday, mail-in ballots received included 223 civilian, two military and 12 overseas.
In Cherokee County, there are 11,789 Republicans, 7,813 unaffiliated and 3,355 Democrats registered. Total voter registration as of Jan. 1 was 23,114. As of Monday, total voter turnout in Cherokee County was 10.7%.
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In Clay County, there were 1,429 in-person early votes cast as of Monday, with 107 civilian mail-in ballots, one military and eight overseas. Graham County reported 827 in-person early votes, with 53 mail-in civilian ballots, and zero military and overseas ballots.
Statewide, 1.031 million votes had been cast – 13.24% of eligible voters, of which 939,123 were from in-person early voting, 78,162 were from civilian mail-in ballots, 2,709 military mailed-in ballots and 11,216 overseas mailed-in ballots.
While the numbers seem impressive, they fall short of 2020 election statistics as of 15 days remaining until Election Day. In 2020, there were just shy of 1.55 million early votes cast, although COVID-19 likely was a factor as voters sought to avoid Election Day crowds by voting early.
In 2016, there were 478,550 early votes cast at this point. For the first day of early voting this year, Thursday’s statewide numbers set a record, according to the N.C. State Board of Elections.
Thursday set 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%.
Through Monday, statewide, Democrats led voter turnout with 35.34% of ballots cast so far. Republicans came in second at 33.16%, followed by unaffiliated voters at 31.02%.
None of the other parties came in more than 1% of the proportion of voter turnout.
Democrats also led in voter turnout at 14.96%, followed by Republicans at 14.73% and unaffiliated at 10.84%
Female turnout came in at 13.86% and 51.57% of the votes cast, followed by males at 13.48% turnout and 42.75% of votes cast. Undesignated gender was at 8.63% turnout and 5.68% of votes cast.
Voter registration and demographic statistics at the county level were not provided by the State Board of Elections.
Early voting begins
Early voting began Thursday in Cherokee County, with long lines outside the Cherokee County Board of Elections in Murphy from the start.
On that first day, 1,093 people voted early and in person in Cherokee County – 4.7% of eligible local voters.
Around lunchtime that day, about 80 people stood in line to vote in this important election, which will determine the next president, vice president, governor, lieutenant governor, congressional representative, along with a long line of other key state and county offices.
Long lines continued through the weekend into Monday.
Among local races, only one is contested – Cherokee County Board of Education, District II, with incumbent Republican Arnold Mathews running against unaffiliated candidate Paul Wilson.
What to expect
If you vote early in Cherokee County, here’s what you can expect. You can only vote early and in person at the Cherokee County Board of Elections office, 40 Peachtree St.
If early voting continues as it was Thursday, the end of the line will be along the county annex building off Peachtree Street. The line continues left around the corner to the building’s front door.
People are ushered inside in small groups, where another line formed in the hallway. Past that is the elections office, where workers check your identification – don’t forget to bring your photo ID – print out documentation and give you a blank ballot hand-marked with your voter precinct.
You will be asked to verify your information on the documentation before continuing to yet another line down a hallway that stops at the actual room with the ballot boxes. Voters are allowed in one at a time as ballot machines become available.
Once ushered into the ballot room, the blank ballot is fed into the voting machine, and voters are shown how the machine works and how to pick candidates. Candidates’ parties are included with their names.
Once done picking candidates on the touch screen, the ballot is returned to the voter, who then inserts the completed ballot into a collection machine that verifies the votes.
Voters then leave the room and, if they wish, can grab a sticker showing they voted. They then exit the building out a different door than the one they entered.
The whole process can take an hour, so come prepared for the temperature (Thursday was chilly and breezy) and bring something to drink and snack on. Bring a portable chair if you need to, because there are few opportunities to sit down.
Handicapped voters can drive up to one of two parking spots reserved for them along Peachtree Street in front of the building. A wire along the ground detects when a car arrives, so make sure you drive over the wire.
In-person early voting for the 2024 general election ends at 3 p.m. Nov. 2 in all 100 counties. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Top 10 tips
Statewide, 419 early voting sites opened Thursday across North Carolina.
“In-person early voting has been the most popular method of voting in recent general elections, and we expect that will continue in 2024,” said Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the State Board of Elections.
In 2020, 65% of North Carolina voters chose in-person early voting as their voting method. And in the presidential election of 2016, 62% of N.C. voters cast their ballot early.
The following are tips for voters as early voting begins from the State Board of Elections:
1. Early voting locations. Eligible voters may cast a ballot at the Cherokee County Board of Elections office. Other election sites in the county will be open only on Election Day.
2. 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.
3. Free photo IDs. Any registered voter who needs a photo ID can get one for free from their county board of elections office during the early voting period, which ends Nov. 2.
4. Register to vote. The regular voter registration deadline was Oct. 11. But any North Carolinian who is eligible to vote may still register and vote during the early voting period. Registrants must provide proof of their residence address, which can be a driver’s license or other government document, paycheck, utility bill, or bank statement.
5. Updating registration. During early voting, registered voters may update their name or address within the same county, if necessary.
6. Absentee ballot drop-off. Voters who vote by absentee ballot can return it by mail or hand it to an election official at an early voting site in their county. They can also drop it off in person to their county board of elections office. Voters registered in the 25 counties in the Helene disaster area in western North Carolina may return their absentee ballot to any early voting site in the state during early voting hours. Ballots will be kept secure and delivered to the voter’s county board of elections for processing.
7. Voting in person instead of absentee. Voters who requested an absentee ballot but have not yet returned it may choose instead to vote in person during the early voting period or on Election Day. Voters may discard the absentee ballot and do not need to bring it to a voting site.
8. Peace at the polls. All voters should respect the rights of others to participate in the election. Election officials are trained to quickly address incidents that might interfere with a voter’s ability to cast their ballot. Intimidating any voter is a crime. Voters who feel harassed or intimidated should notify an election official immediately.
9. Voters in need of assistance. Voters in need of assistance may bring an eligible person to help them enter and exit the polling place or to help them complete their ballot according to the voter’s instructions. Election officials are also available to help voters. Curbside voting is also available for voters unable to enter the voting site.