NC voter registrations pick up as expert says state could see record turnout

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – With less than 50 days to go until the general election, events occurred across North Carolina Tuesday to coincide with National Voter Registration Day as the state is poised to play a crucial role in determining who wins the White House.

Lily Barnett, a senior at Meredith College, was among those encouraging her classmates to register, noting the power young voters could have in shaping the outcome of the election.

“We don’t vote as much as other age demographics, so we’re doing our best to get our voices heard,” she said. “North Carolina is a swing state. Our votes matter big time.”

North Carolina is seeing an uptick in registrations as the election draws closer. For more information on how to register to vote in North Carolina and the key deadlines click here: https://www.ncsbe.gov/registering

Last week, registrations increased by about 19,000, according to the N.C. State Board of Elections. Of those, about 55 percent of people registered as unaffiliated.

Since the 2020 election, there have been some significant changes in voter registration data. Unaffiliated voters now outnumber registered Democrats and Republicans, comprising 37.7 percent of the electorate. About 31.5 percent of voters are registered Democrats and 29.9 percent are registered Republicans.

The number of registered Democrats has decreased by about 213,000 while the number of registered Republicans has increased by about 52,000 and the number of unaffiliated voters jumped by more than 430,000.

“More and more people are considering themselves to be independent at least in mindset. Their voting preferences tend to be very consistent. But, they consider themselves to be more independent,” said David McLennan, an expert on state politics at Meredith College.

Since President Joe Biden exited the race, U.S. Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-NC 13th) points out Democratic voter registrations have risen, which he says makes him “very optimistic.”

“The signs that we’ve seen with voter registration are very encouraging and show a campaign with a ton of momentum heading into November,” he said.

State Republican Party Chairman Jason Simmons said Republicans have been narrowing the gap in voter registration with Democrats since the 2016 election and expect that trend to continue.

“What we’ve seen of late has just been more of the historic norms, the late push by both parties to reach out to groups, to reach out to unaffiliateds to reach out to the new movers for voter registration drives,” he said. “Nothing that we’ve seen from the Democrat Party on their voter registration numbers alarm us. And, we continue to see Republicans outpacing Democrat registration.”

North Carolina saw record turnout during the 2020 election when about 75 percent of registered voters cast their ballots.

McLennan said he thinks 2024 could exceed that.

“I think we could see even an increase from 2020. Across demographic groups, it seems like enthusiasm in the race has changed since Harris has entered. The Trump people have been enthusiastic since 2015,” he said. “I think there’s enthusiasm across the board. So, we might see younger voters, older voters, rural, urban, this could be a record-breaking election.”

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