On Wednesday, county boards of elections across the state randomly selected two precincts or early voting sites in each county whose ballots will be hand-counted to confirm results tabulated by machine on Tuesday’s Election Day. The process is required by state law.

This year almost 5.7 million of North Carolina’s 7.8 million registered voters cast ballots in the election. That’s a turnout rate of 73%. 

“North Carolina had a record turnout in terms of raw numbers, but that is a function of the state’s growing population,” Dr. Andy Jackson, Director of the Civitas Center for Public Integrity at the John Locke Foundation, told the Carolina Journal. “We have had record turnout in each of the past seven presidential elections going back to 1996. In terms of percentage, turnout is about 73%. That is down slightly from 2020’s 75% but is still higher than the recent historical average.”

Based on these numbers, approximately 1.3 million voters cast ballots on Election Day, and more than 4.4 million were cast during the early voting period. 

“One question is whether these high turnout numbers will continue without Donald Trump on the ballot,” continued Jackson. “Have more people gotten into the habit of voting, or will they lose interest in future elections, causing turnout in presidential elections to dip back below 70%?”

These results are preliminary and unofficial, and numbers will likely grow during the ten-day canvass period.

what is next?

“We are extraordinarily grateful to our county boards of elections, our county election staffs, and the thousands of poll workers who made the 2024 general election a success in a highly charged political environment,” Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the State Board of Elections, said in a press release following the election. “Our work is not done. State and county elections officials take many steps after every election to ensure all eligible votes are counted and the results are checked, double-checked, and accurate. That process started today.”

Ballots that have yet to be counted include absentee ballots dropped off on Election Day, as well as the ballots of any military and US citizens abroad which must arrive by 5 pm on Nov 14 to be eligible for counting.

County boards will hold meetings between now and Nov 15 to consider the absentee ballots and add ballots that meet all statutory requirements to the results. These meetings are open to the public, and county boards are required to be aware of them.

provisional ballots

In addition, county boards are required to research all provisional ballots. Provisional ballots include those cast by voters who were unable to show the proper photo ID at the polls. Voters unable to present an acceptable photo ID and either complete a photo ID exception form or return after voting to present their photo ID to their county board of elections, according to a press release. Due to this being the first general election under which the new photo ID law was implemented, the NCSBE anticipates the number of provisional ballots will be greater than in previous years.

Provisional ballots also include ballots cast by voters who voted in the wrong precinct or do not appear in the official pollbook maintained by the voting site where they voted. Any eligible ballots from the provisional ballots will be added to the results during the canvass period. The number of additional ballots added to the unofficial results will vary by county depending on when meetings are held.

hand-counting ballots

“Under state law, every county must conduct a hand count of ballots in two randomly selected precincts, early voting sites, or absentee ballots to confirm results tabulated by machine,” according to an NCSBE press release. Hand counts are conducted during public meetings by bipartisan teams of counters.

On Wednesday, the NCSBE randomly selected the voting groups, which determined the ballots that would be hand-counted in each county. Twenty-eight early voting sites and 156 Election Day precincts will hand-count ballots. In addition, 16 counties will count their absentee-by-mail ballots.

County boards will certify their results at public meetings held at 11 am on Nov 15th. The boards review election records for accuracy and certify contests and referenda within county boundaries. They also consider any eligible challenges to the ballots during the canvass.

The NCSBE will certify all election results during a public meeting at 11 am on Nov 26. Results are only considered official once they have been certified by the NCSBE. The board with jurisdiction over that race will issue a certificate of election to the prevailing candidate.