(The Center Square) – County boards of elections in North Carolina on Wednesday were given an option for whether to have Sunday voting during the early in-person period leading up to Election Day.
The ballots across the state this year are municipal, meaning a much shorter volume and a likely lighter turnout. Midterms in 2026, with a U.S. Senate seat included, will draw much more interest.
One-stop early voting locations were introduced in 1999. The state government was a trifecta of Democrats when Sunday voting was legislated and implemented in 2007.
Wednesday’s vote by the State Board of Elections was 3-2 with Republican Chairman Francis DeLuca, and Republicans Bob Rucho and Stacy Eggers in favor. Democrats Jeff Carmon and Siobhan Millen were opposed.
Early voting and absentee by mail have increased in popularity. Conservative leaning groups, in fact, made it a major point of strategy emphasis last fall.
For example, in Republican President Donald Trump’s winning a second term, only 22.2% of his nearly 2.9 million votes in the state came on Election Day. The Nov. 5 vote was 18.2% of Democrat Kamala Harris’ more than 2.7 million. Of more than 3 million voting for Democrat Josh Stein to be governor, only 19.2% cast that ballot on Election Day.
The board, in other items, did not act on a request from the Trump administration to participate in data sharing with federal immigration officials.
