Where it stands
Understanding the Dem vote
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How we count
What’s a turnout rate?
The share of voters who have voted so far. If 5 of every 1,000 voters have voted, turnout is 0.5%.
Why not just count ballots?
Because the voters themselves change. NC has 6% more voters than in 2022, people have moved between counties, and more have registered unaffiliated. A place can cast more ballots just by growing. A rate takes that growth out.
What do “vs 2022” and “vs 2018” mean?
Today’s turnout rate compared with the turnout rate at the same number of days before Election Day in 2022 (Nov 8) and 2018 (Nov 6), the last two midterms. For those years, “who was registered” is who was on the rolls that day. For 2026, every day on the chart uses today’s registered-voter count, so people who registered later are in the denominator for earlier days too. 2018’s early voting opened one day earlier, so its totals include that extra first day.
How do you know who was registered on a day in 2022 or 2018?
The State Board’s voter files show when each registration started and when it ended. A voter counts on a day if it had started and hadn’t ended yet.
District lines changed. How do you compare with past years?
We put every 2022 and 2018 voter on today’s map using the address they lived at then, so every year covers the same area. For the few addresses we can’t match (1.4% in 2022), we split them across today’s precincts the same way everyone else from their old precinct ended up.
Do 2026 ballots and 2026 registered voters use the same map?
In the same county, yes. Precinct and district can differ: a 2026 ballot stays on the absentee file, and a registered voter is counted where they are on the current voter file. Someone who moved after voting can show up in one precinct as a ballot and another as a registered voter. In 2022 and 2018, ballots and registered voters share one placement, so they line up.
What do Always, Frequent, Infrequent and Newer mean?
How often someone voted in the last three general elections (for 2026: 2020, 2022 and 2024). Always voters voted in all 3, Frequent in 2 and Infrequent in 0 or 1. Newer voters registered after the first of the three. 2022 and 2018 are grouped the same way against their own last three generals.
What counts as a ballot?
Ballots the State Board lists as accepted. Mail ballots count on the day the county board received them, and in-person ballots on the day the voter voted.
What does “need a cure” mean?
Mail ballots that came back with a fixable problem, such as missing witness information or ID. The voter can still fix it.
What do “fixed” and “fix rate” mean?
Fixed: mail ballots that needed a cure and were accepted after the voter fixed them. Fix rate: fixed ballots out of all that needed a cure, fixed or still waiting. It shows once a group has at least 10.
Why do the newest numbers go up?
Counties keep entering ballots for a few days, while 2022 and 2018 are final, so the latest day tends to rise.
Did the mail ballot rules change?
Yes. Since 2024, mail ballots must arrive by Election Day and include a copy of a photo ID.
Source: NC State Board of Elections ballot and voter files, updated each morning. Counts only; no voter names are published on this page.