NC early voting is beating 2018 midterms

[littlemissmartypants]

Which generations are leading the way?
BY GENNA CONTINO OCTOBER 31, 2022 6:51 PM

In-person and mail-in absentee ballots in North Carolina are outpacing 2018 midterm election numbers despite having one fewer day in the early voting cycle. Mecklenburg County, meanwhile, is quickly approaching 100,000 early votes cast in person with the bulk of early voters expected to hit the polls this week, Mecklenburg Elections Director Michael Dickerson said. While that’s fewer early voters than the same time in 2018, Dickerson said he expects turnout to increase over the next week “We’re on schedule for 50% (of registered voter) turnout,” Dickerson said. “Hopefully that will work out, but I am the eternal optimist.”

Early voting began Oct. 20 and lasts until Saturday — 17 days. That’s one fewer day than 2018, but it hasn’t affected turnout so far, data show.

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Baby boomers (ages 58-78) make up 50.6% of early voters across North Carolina, Generation X (42-57) accounts for 20.2% and the remaining 15.2% of early votes come from the Silent Generation (77-111). The average age of people who have cast a ballot in North Carolina is 61. Catawba College Politics Department Chair Michael Bitzer said he was surprised at just how few voters from younger generations have cast ballots. Though, low turnout among younger voters is common. “If both Gen Z and millennials are going to punch up to their weight, there’s some real work to be done,” Bitzer said. “In recent elections, the majority of millennials voted on Election Day and Gen Z was split between early voting and Election Day. That will give us some clue of when and if they’re going to show up.”

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Mecklenburg County Democrats, who hold a majority in the local government, have doubled the early voting among Republicans. So far, 46% who voted early countywide were registered Democrats, 23% were registered Republicans and 31% were unaffiliated.

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Much more at the link...
https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article268107277.html#storylink=cpy

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