Pivotal battleground state North Carolina surpasses 1 million votes cast in 2024 election
More than one million voters have cast their ballots in the pivotal swing state of North Carolina, according to officials.
As of Sunday afternoon, four days into the state's in-person early voting, 1,008,123 ballots had been cast, the North Carolina State Board of Elections said in a news release. Those constitute 13% of the 7.8 million registered voters in the state.
The 863,000 voters who cast ballots during the first three days of North Carolina's in-person early voting period represented a 2.4% increase from the same time frame in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic altered how people chose to vote.
“It has been an incredibly busy few days. Please thank those in your community who are making sure your vote counts," Karen Brinson Bell, elections board executive director, said in a statement.
North Carolina is one seven states that could decide the election. The turnout benchmark comes with just more than two weeks left until Election Day.
Election 2024 live updates: Trump and Harris to hit these swing states; latest polls
Polls show Trump and Harris in close race in North Carolina
Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are facing off in what is shaping up to be a very tight presidential election. Recent polls from FiveThirtyEight show Trump leads Harris in the Tar Heel State by less than a percentage point, while Harris leads Trump nationally by 1.7 points.
Democrats haven't won the state since 2008.
Parts of North Carolina were hit hard by Hurricane Helene earlier this month. Harris has toured destruction and visited donation centers, and Trump has raised money for those affected and spread misinformation about President Joe Biden's response to the disaster.
A new USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll shows Harris is leading Trump 63%-34% nationally among those who have already voted. Among those who plan to wait until Election Day to vote, Trump was ahead 52%-35%.
Trump is appearing in North Carolina Monday, while Harris is touring other swing states with former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo.
Early voting opens in these states the week of Oct. 21
According to Ballotpedia, the following states are set to start in-person early voting soon:
Alaska - Oct. 21
Arkansas - Oct. 21
Colorado - Oct. 21
Connecticut - Oct. 21
Idaho - Oct. 21
South Carolina - Oct. 21
Texas - Oct. 21
Hawaii - Oct. 22
Missouri - Oct. 22
Utah - Oct. 22
Wisconsin - Oct. 22
West Virginia - Oct. 23
Maryland - Oct. 24
Delaware - Oct. 25
Florida - Oct. 26
Michigan - Oct. 26
New Jersey - Oct. 26
New York - Oct. 26
District of Columbia - Oct. 28
Oklahoma - Oct. 30
Kentucky - Oct. 31
Contributing: Savannah Kuchar, Susan Page, Sudiksha Kochi, Erin Mansfield, Joey Garrison, Karissa Waddick, Rebecca Morin
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: North Carolina early voting turnout: Over 1 million ballots cast