Despite national attention ahead of the Super Tuesday primary elections on Tuesday, March 3, one-stop early voting numbers in Macon County are lagging slightly behind 2016 totals.
As of noon on Tuesday, a total of 1,885 voters had cast their ballot in Macon County, with 159 of those coming from the Highlands early voting location at the Rec Center on 4th Street.
In 2016, the last presidential election year, there were 3,572 ballots cast during early voting and 388 in Highlands.
One key difference is that in 2016, both major political parties had primary challenges due to president Barack Obama being at the end of his second term. In 2020, there is a fierce primary race in the Democratic Party, but an incumbent Republican president in the White House facing very little primary opposition.
“Back in 2016 early voting hit record highs, likely because of what was going on nationally that year,” Macon County Board of Elections Deputy Director Gary Tallent said. “We have still been pretty busy this year, but not quite to the level was saw four years ago.”
Of the early voting ballots cast as of the polls closing on Monday, 1,262 were republican primary ballots and 603 were cast in the democratic primary.
One-stop early voting will continue from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. The final day of early voting will be held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 29.
Primary Election Day will see the polls open at each precinct from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3.
Tallent noted that voters in North Carolina do not need a photo identification to vote in the 2020 primary election. The voting process will be unchanged from previous years, where the voter will enter the precinct, give their name and address and receive a ballot.