Early voting ends, focus now on Election Day

UPDATED 9:30 A.M.

Unlike much of the last month, Election Day is cool, gray, and rainy. Many voters, however, won't have to worry about donning a raincoat before heading to the polls. That's because they already voted.

Nearly 60% of Burke County's registered voters took advantage of early voting, which ran Oct. 17-Nov. 2.

Those who did make the journey to their assigned polling place found short lines. 

For example, at Lovelady 4, which votes at the Valdese Splash Pad building, 81 voters had cast ballots as of 8:45. 

"It's been steady," said chief election Judge Terri Self. "I expect we'll vote 500 to 600 people before the day is over."

Unsure of your polling place? You can use the Board of Elections' online tool to confirm where you vote: www.burkenc.org/2588/Find-My-Voting-Precinct.

Remember to bring your photo ID. Voters must show an acceptable photo ID when they check in at their voting site. Acceptable IDs include N.C. driver's license, State ID from N.C. Department of Motor Vehicles, military ID, and U.S. Passport or Passport card. See the full list at www.ncsbe.gov/voting/voter-id#onsite. 

EARLY VOTING SNAPSHOT

The last day of early voting in Burke County, Saturday, brought another 1,651 to polling stations and boosted the percent of Burke registered voters taking part in the process to a record 59.6%, easily surpassing the 2020 mark.

Saturday's action at the polls pushed totals to 16,240 Republicans; 7,050 Democrats; 12,056 Unaffiliated; and 181 were Other, according to data provided by the Burke County Board of Elections.

The county's election board has recorded 886 absentee ballots as of Saturday.

The 2024 early voting turnout in Burke surpassed the previous record early vote turnout in 2020 of just over 54.3%, according to Burke County election officials.

In the 2020 general election, 76.7% (44,759 out of 58,308) of Burke's registered voters went to the polls. Republicans represented 69.5% of that vote, Democrats, 29.4%, and the balance were write-ins.

Turnout was strong across the state. As of Sunday morning, 57% of the state's 7.8 million registered voters cast ballots early, according to the NC Board of Elections. 

Voters in the 25 Western North Carolina counties strongly affected by Hurricane Helene continued to outpace the rest of the state in voter turnout. Through Saturday, turnout in those 25 counties was 58.9%, about 2% higher than the statewide turnout, according to NCSBE data.   

The state's Election Results page for Burke County can be found here.