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Ballot-marking devices increase the chances of voting errors Incidents in the 2024 election highlight concerns over ballot-marking devices The General Assembly should require all counties to use hand-marked paper ballots Incidents in other states in the November 5 election have highlighted problems with ballot-marking devices (BMDs): touchscreen voting machines that produce a small paper ballot...

While it may be hard to predict the outcome of many races in North Carolina tonight, we have a pretty good idea of how the evening and subsequent days will progress. Here are three things to know about tonight’s election results in the Old North State. 1. It Will Be Election Night in North Carolina...

Election day is upon us, and with it come many eyes on battleground states like North Carolina that will determine who will be the next President of the United States.  Polling indicates that both the presidential and most other statewide elections are going to be close this year.  While eyes will be on these top-of-the-ballot...

As North Carolina gears up for election day, let’s take a final look at the data on the pre–election day ballots. Most of the data will come from the John Locke Foundation’s Vote Tracker. Voter Registration Changes: Republicans Led in Same-Day Registrations As seen on the John Locke Foundation’s Voter Registration Changes page, Republicans had...

With less than a week until election day, candidate third-quarter finance reports are beginning to be posted on the State Board of Elections website. Unlike federal elections with the FEC, reports to the state board of elections require processing before they become public on the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) website. Though we are...

We have all seen the scenes of utter devastation after Hurricane Helene hit western North Carolina. Yet most county boards of elections were up and running within a few days, and every county in the affected area was conducting early voting (sometimes with modified plans) three weeks later. To get an impression of how early...

The big news through the first eleven days of early voting is that Republicans have jumped out to an unprecedented advantage. Since no one believes that Democrats will outvote Republicans on election day, that raises the question of whether Democrats can turn the early voting trend around during the last week of early voting. Voter...

According to the October Carolina Journal Poll (formerly Civitas Poll), Mo Green’s lead over Michele Morrow for State Superintendent of Public Instruction has narrowed to 2.5 percentage points. In September, Green led Morrow by 4.1 percentage points. Regarding to the numbers, 43.2 percent of voters chose Morrow, while 45.7 percent chose Green. A little over 11 percent...

Like most election analysts and reporters, lately, my focus has been solely on voter turnout patterns and the money going into North Carolina’s competitive races. This year, North Carolina plays host not only to one of the most competitive states for the electoral college but also to one of three competitive seats in the southeastern United...

Four years ago, I posted a piece discussing the judicial races that were taking place at the time. Since it’s still relevant, I’m reposting the first part today. A reporter recently asked me several questions about the North Carolina Supreme Court races. Because they’re questions of general interest, and because there’s more to be said...

This week’s data dump includes the first four days of early voting, letting us add a little more data. Voter Registration Changes County boards of elections processed the last of the regular voter registrations (deadline October 11) this week and started processing same-day registrations. There was a net increase of 7,107 Democratic, 8,741 Republican, and...

The North Carolina Leadership Forum (NCLF) hosted a series of meetings in 2023 and 2024 for election policy experts and public officials from across the political spectrum. The goal was to reach a broad consensus, or at least a mutual understanding, on one question: “What is the best way for North Carolina to conduct elections?”...

This Thursday marks the start of North Carolina’s early voting. While many people have likely been inundated with ads and media coverage about the top of the ticket, it is important to pay attention to lower-ballot races like local state House and Senate Races. While Republicans are likely to still hold a majority in 2025,...

North Carolina county boards of elections conduct sample hand-to-eye counts of ballots to ensure that they were tabulated correctly Though intended to be random, the way the sample is conducted makes it more likely that some types of ballots are selected for auditing than others, especially in larger counties There are ways the General Assembly...

This is the last week of North Carolina election data before early voting starts on Thursday, October 17. Voter Registration Changes This is the first week of the election season in which either party’s registration increase came close to that of the unaffiliated. There was a net increase of 5,430 Democratic, 11,329 Republican, and 12,916...

Most people know that judges are restricted in their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech. Judges and candidates for judicial office are unable to speak to policy and potential cases that may come before them in court. However, this is not the only prohibition on their First Amendment rights.  Once an individual declares candidacy...

(UPDATE: The table below has been updated to clarify that voters in the affected counties can request, receive, and vote their absentee ballot at their county board of elections office through the day before election day. This functionally creates an additional day or two (if the board office is open on Sunday) of early voting.)...

Voter Registration Changes Voter registrations have increased by 137,470 since the pre-election registration surge began in late July. That is well off the 2020 pace of 176,474. That is mainly due to party registrations being well off the 2020 pace; unaffiliated registration increases continue to exceed those of 2020. Every county elections board, including those...

We are still assessing the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina and surrounding areas. It will likely be several days or even weeks before we know the full extent of the damage and the needs in the area. Unfortunately, election officials do not have that time. The 2024 election is already upon...

Hurricane Helene disrupted North Carolina’s second week of mail voting. With rescue and relief taking priority in the mountains and foothills right now, it may take a while to understand the hurricane’s full impact on voter registration and voting. Voter Registration Changes Voter registrations kicked into a higher gear in North Carolina at this point...

Voting has begun in North Carolina after a two-week delay for counties to reprint ballots without RFK Jr.’s name on them. With that start, we will also start our regular Monday election data dump posts featuring information on North Carolina’s 2024 election. Voter Registration Changes North Carolina usually experiences a surge in voter registrations in...

After a delay in North Carolina’s mail-in ballots, military and overseas ballots are set to go out Friday, September 20th, with civilian ballots to be sent out next Tuesday, September 24th.  As of September 17th, there are 187,178 mail-in ballot requests throughout North Carolina, of which roughly 14,000 are military and overseas ballots going out...

Ryan Wesley Routh, the man who allegedly attempted to assassinate former president Donald Trump over the weekend, voted in the Democratic primary on March 5. Was he legally entitled to do so? Since the assassination attempt, questions have emerged about his right to vote in North Carolina based on his criminal record and his residency....

The North Carolina State Board of Elections (SBE) ordered Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to remain on the ballot in a 3–2 party-line vote The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that the SBE must remove Kennedy to protect voters’ “fundamental right to vote their conscience” The problems with Kennedy’s withdrawal exposed the need for election law...