As of Friday, data from the North Carolina Board of Elections reveals that over 1.4 million registered Republicans, making up 59.95% of their party's registered voters, have cast their early ballots. This compares to 1.35 million registered Democrats, representing 55.19% of their party's electorate.

In-person early voting, which concludes on Saturday, has seen record turnout levels this year. On the first day of early voting, October 17, the state saw 353,000 registered voters head to the polls, setting an unprecedented pace for early participation.

The trend marks a departure from four years ago when Democrats had a decisive lead in early voting by more than a million votes. The shift follows a concerted effort by the Republican Party to prompt their voters to engage in early voting, a strategy shift after observing lower early voter turnout in previous elections.

The North Carolina Elections Board has made several adjustments to facilitate early voting. They passed a bipartisan emergency resolution to reform the early voting process in 13 counties. This includes changes such as adding or modifying voting sites, extending voting hours, and adjusting the availability of sites during the early voting period.

As of the latest figures provided on Friday, approximately 53.33% of ballots for the 2024 election have already been cast, indicating a highly engaged electorate and setting the stage for a compelling Election Day in North Carolina.