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Thursday (Oct. 17) marked the first day of in-person early voting across the state and by all indications, the 2024 election will be marked by a large turnout.

A record 353,166 ballots were accepted at sites statewide, according to preliminary State Board of Elections data that was posted Friday morning.

The early voting numbers topped the previous record for the first day of early voting – 348,559, set in 2020 – by 1.3 percent.

As of Friday morning, 428,299 voters had cast ballots in North Carolina. This includes 75,133 absentee ballots cast.

Locally, a combined 2,645 ballots were cast at the early voting locations in Bertie (805), Gates (460), Hertford (709), and Northampton (768) counties.

Adding in the absentee by mail ballots counted on Thursday, a total of 2,758 votes have been cast locally.

Of the 428,299 total votes cast statewide thus far, 156,008 were by those registered as Democrats, 142,930 by Republicans, and 127,442 by Unaffiliated voters. The remainder were by Libertarian, Green, No Labels, Constitution, We The People, and Justice For All political party voters.

In-person early voting continues through Saturday, November 2 at 419 sites statewide.

Locally those sites are at:

Bertie County Board of Elections Office (210 W. Watson Street, Windsor)

Lewiston Fire Department (103 W. Church Street, Lewiston-Woodville)

Powellsville Town Hall (106 E. Main Street, Powellsville)

Gates County Board of Elections Office (25 Medical Center Road, Gates)

Hertford County Board of Elections Office (418 Everett Street, Ahoskie)

Murfree Center (201 E. Broad Street, Murfreesboro)

Northampton County Cultural and Wellness Center (9536 NC Hwy 305, Jackson)

Bishop W.I. Welch Community Center (101 Cherry Street, Gaston)

Creecy Gymnasium (210 Roberts Road, Rich Square)

All of those sites are open weekdays from 8 a.m. until 7:30 p.m.

The sites in Bertie and Gates counties are also open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on three Saturdays (Oct. 19, Oct. 26, and Nov. 2). The sites in Hertford and Northampton counties are open from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. on just one Saturday (Nov. 2).