The Numbers Are In: North Carolina Democrats Crush Republicans In Early Voting
If the numbers from the first day of early voting in North Carolina are an indicator of how the November elections will turn out in a state which is mindbogglingly rigged in Republicans’ favor, then Democrats are looking good.
[su_center_ad]According to the North Carolina State Board of Elections: 118, 417 people voted on Day 1. Of those, 60,163 Democrats, 35,812 Republicans, 23,280 Unaffiliated and 162 Libertarians cast their ballots.
WCNC reports, “Democrats have long enjoyed an advantage in Early Voting, but these totals are closer to a presidential election instead of a midterm election, says political science professor and analyst Dr. Michael Bitzer.”
“It does not feel like a traditional midterm election.It is eye-opening for Republicans in particular, and especially the Thom Tillis campaign, simply because this should a lean GOP year,” Bitzer said.
In Mecklenburg County, Republicans are doing slightly better than Democrats outside the county, Bitzer said. He said that he believes the early numbers shows the enthusiasm of Democrats supporting Senator Kay Hagan.
“Potentially by early next week we may see comparable numbers to four years ago, even with fewer days for folks to be voting,” Bitzer said.
Senator Kay Hagan cast her ballot near Greensboro on Friday. Speaker Thom Tillis — who is only the second Republican to serve as House speaker since the turn of the 20th century — is considering early voting himself, however as of Friday night, nothing is official.
“The likelihood is Democrats will continue to dominate early voting. The big question is: Who is left to show up on Election Day? And I think with such a tight race is going to be important for both sides to get their supporters to the polls. It is incumbent for both parties to have their ground games in effect. This is a part of the strategy: early voting,” Bitzer said.
If Democrats turned out in each state to vote, this country would be a beautiful color. Vote.
Watch courtesy of WCNC:
H/T: @ComgenKDT who voted early in North Carolina.[su_csky_ad]
NW10 October 26th, 2014 at 9:09 am
Good news, let’s keep it up until election day! Remember, the GOP’s goal is to suppress turnout, while making sure their base gets out to vote. We maximize turnout, we win!
granpa.usthai October 26th, 2014 at 11:10 am
that’s the entire agenda for GOPs. Has been for a long time. Would be a shame to have to live through another attempt to crash and burn the restarting economy just to see how close the Republicans can push US towards the Fascist Abyss. You’d have thought folks would be learning by the 3rd time around?
Voting Counts, otherwise the GOPs wouldn’t have spent the last 6 years and their entire political capital trying to restrict it to their ‘chosen few’ only.
mea_mark October 26th, 2014 at 9:14 am
I voted, have you? Get out and vote.
NW10 October 26th, 2014 at 9:18 am
Mailed my ballot off a week ago.
rg9rts October 26th, 2014 at 9:19 am
Next week
granpa.usthai October 26th, 2014 at 11:05 am
a true optomstrist?
rg9rts October 26th, 2014 at 12:01 pm
If I live to tuesday its a fact…
granpa.usthai October 26th, 2014 at 11:02 am
yep. First day of early voting in NC. (somebody’s gotta be the first in line). UNA for Kay is my unofficial voting nickname this go round. POTUS2B was in town but missed the event- (still a couple of years yet). Hope this election will return NC to some sanity @ the state level.
Sydney October 26th, 2014 at 9:15 am
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
rg9rts October 26th, 2014 at 9:19 am
Long time no see
Sydney October 26th, 2014 at 9:22 am
Hey there! How are you?
It’s a beautiful fall day here in NC.
rg9rts October 26th, 2014 at 9:26 am
Same here in New York but windy…35 mph gusts.. Where have you been hanging out?? I’m not too welcome at ET so I have other homes.. this is one, Common Dream, alternet, and the gothamist for the city in me.
Sydney October 26th, 2014 at 9:29 am
I am often at Raw Story, sometimes Alternet Crooks and Liars and at this site.
I’ve pretty much given up on Politico…what a cesspool.
rg9rts October 26th, 2014 at 9:33 am
Oh well…truth be known I’m banned at Raw Story …LOL Politico is of no interest to me either…I really don’t care much for sites where you have to be vulgar.. Can’t have much of an argument if you have to curse to make your point… I guess I’ll be seeing your around I’ll / you.
Sydney October 26th, 2014 at 9:37 am
Oops…..Raw gave you the boot? I’m sorry.
Politico…yes, it’s not even the worst one, but I haven’t gained much from exchanges there….and I’m being polite.
rg9rts October 26th, 2014 at 9:39 am
Was kickin A2P’s butt and wasn’t appreciated…Haven’t been back…heard they changed their format and are copying HP in some ways…
Sydney October 26th, 2014 at 9:41 am
Ah sigh….
I liked the old format, but it didn’t go “Facebook” yet, thank goodness.
rg9rts October 26th, 2014 at 9:42 am
LOL: whats facebook??
rg9rts October 26th, 2014 at 9:45 am
Off to annoy the planet
Sydney October 26th, 2014 at 10:12 am
It’s an alien place where people photograph their meals, show updates on their kids’ potty training and invite everyone to play candy crush…..
rg9rts October 26th, 2014 at 10:21 am
I have a life thankyou…I even share my fried green tomato recipe LOL
Sydney October 26th, 2014 at 2:01 pm
Ha!
Lo-o-ove green fried tomatoes!
rg9rts October 26th, 2014 at 2:16 pm
If you grow tomatoes , get the TotallyTomatoes catalog
and they have a special variety that is just for frying…Make a 3″ fruit that stay green or orange but stays firm while frying… I still have a bunch in the crisper waiting top be done..
rg9rts October 26th, 2014 at 9:18 am
It ain’t over till its over….
Sydney October 26th, 2014 at 9:30 am
I know…but I cling to every bit of good news.
rg9rts October 26th, 2014 at 9:34 am
Hey look at the bright side….you could be in Texas….
Sydney October 26th, 2014 at 9:38 am
Good point.
Ever since the 2010 elections here, things have spiraled down.
rg9rts October 26th, 2014 at 9:40 am
At least you don’t have Gohmert or Perry ….but your Gov is a real winner too!
Sydney October 26th, 2014 at 10:06 am
Puppet to $Art Pope$
rg9rts October 26th, 2014 at 10:23 am
They all re$pond to $$$$$
Sydney October 26th, 2014 at 9:26 am
Moral Mondays continue
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpEXxd9fCs8&list=UUeBaVCo1Abl6J-g5E1x080w
crc3 October 26th, 2014 at 9:52 am
Good news. Now if every other state gets on board we will have something to cheer for!!
mrbigstuff October 26th, 2014 at 10:36 am
I live in Western North Carolina,Where people need Health Insurance and Food Assistance,My prediction they vote Repug against there own interest,They would deny themselves and families these much needed programs.
granpa.usthai October 26th, 2014 at 11:19 am
may be right. Not too many seemed to mind being cut off from their unemployment insurance sos LYING Tommie T’s buds could have a nice place to dock their Luxury Yachts – at TAXPAYER’s EXPENSE!
M D Reese October 28th, 2014 at 2:03 am
I don’t get people like that. It’s like they all think they will win the lottery or Publisher’s Clearing house someday, and so of COURSE we don’t want to tax the rich…or something. Crazy.
causeican October 26th, 2014 at 11:06 am
That just means there will be no early voting in North Caroline next time around.
granpa.usthai October 26th, 2014 at 11:16 am
if Republiklans win again, probably not. (maybe even no voting period). Don’t doubt that with their new – no need for a trial by jury when the GOP Governor appoints the GOP Judge ‘proposed amendment to state constitution – they’ll just throw in the ‘everybody’s gonna vote for the GOPs anyway, so why waste state tax dollars when they could be going into a GOP offshore bank account?
Obewon October 26th, 2014 at 11:45 am
Twice as many Dems vs repubs are energized with half of the unaffiliated supporting Senator Kay Hagan to ‘kick the voting disenfranchisement bums out!’ Perceived Vote value, and turnout rises as KKKoch Bros send deceptive voter info with invalid registration info.
granpa.usthai October 26th, 2014 at 12:15 pm
having the fundamental right to ELECT instead of letting backroom hooligans SELECT those who represent the voice of the people does tend to rile some folks. I opted to go with Kay Hagan (even though she has been a 4% slacker in the Senate when it comes to working with the POTUS) because Tillis is fulfilling the TRUE NEW REPUBLICAN’s views for a national socialist State – and now promising to do so for the nation. Too bad they failed to end the corruption in the NC Industrial Commission (Governor McCrory [R] opted to drop it as one of his first actions) under the leadership of Speaker Tillis [R]. About the only thing they agreed would be good for the people of NC was to keep the employees at the Taxpayer Funded Multi-million dollar Marina fully employed. After destroying the Public Education in NC by running off the most experienced teachers, they realized the political blunder and opted to make amends by adding about 34 million back in from the 500 million taken out, leaving about 476 million to disappear beyond the horizon of the coastline. Leaving the sick, injured and poor to fend for themselves in the back alleys is just so damn reminiscent of the ‘moral majority’ Reagan era where the focus of how to keep the homeless from surviving by eating thrown away food out of trash dumpsters was by poisoning the food! Thankfully someone had the common sense (back then) to realize the difficulty in enforcing a law that would prevent poisoned people from dying in the streets! (too bad that someone is no longer in the new Republican party).
MaryJane Mccarthy James October 26th, 2014 at 12:04 pm
My fear…Art pope and the rest of the rethugs will not allow that to happen.
Sydney October 26th, 2014 at 1:59 pm
I cannot even stand typing Pope’s name.
eyelashviper October 26th, 2014 at 1:27 pm
Early voting has been high in many areas of Florida so far, but so far no data as to how they have voted. Somehow, I think that these midterms are not being ignored, and just hope that a tidal wave will sweep the Goper/teapers back into their swamp.
Richard .Rowe October 26th, 2014 at 9:00 pm
I agree…much as people detest Valdemort right now, most of his own people are too embarrassed to support him. And it’s gotten increasingly obvious how we’re being screwed…especially in South Florida. That secession thing was a brilliant way to get people moving. And, the courts are forcing FL to redistrict because of the gerrymandering…goodbye half our problems lol. Yeah, I’m feeling pretty good about this year too. BTW, some of us are from the swamp 😛
Boehner-Monkey October 26th, 2014 at 9:16 pm
I concur. What he did to Moaning Myrtle was rubbish.
Candide Thirtythree October 27th, 2014 at 4:28 am
I actually live in a real swamp and I love it but the republicans have put a stink on my state that not even Pine sol can get out so we are moving to Colorado.
M D Reese October 28th, 2014 at 2:00 am
Let’s hope that they GOPTP has finally jumped the shark.
Veri1138 October 28th, 2014 at 3:14 am
Dems normally crush GOTP in the early voting. Quite frankly, I do hope they keep ahead. Republicans have been trying to gentrify the entire State for quite some time now, pushing out the poor.
M D Reese October 28th, 2014 at 1:59 am
Oh let’s hope so! I want watch Megyn Kelly and Karl “Turdblossom” Rove cry on national TV. Mid terms are when the GOPTPers do their most damage.
VALERIE MARTIN October 26th, 2014 at 2:24 pm
I #Voted on Friday in Las Vegas, NV.
No line.
No waiting.
Took no more than 10 minutes!
Saw many others Voting as well….
If you can, Vote EARLY!
I took my neighbor as well.
If WE Vote, WE win!
Franklin Boyd October 27th, 2014 at 6:17 am
Excellent.
M D Reese October 28th, 2014 at 1:56 am
I’m with you. It feels good to have it done. We’re having more early voters here than usual, which is great. I like to beat the weather, too–it gets snotty this time of year.
Keith October 29th, 2014 at 9:57 pm
The only way the public wins is to demonstrate we will no longer blindly follow the two headed albatross. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough people left in this country with the gonads to really change anything. It’S alright though. It will all come crashing down in probably another 5 to 10 years irrespective of who is in office simply because no one has the intestinal fortitude to do the RIGHT thing.
RK Johnston October 26th, 2014 at 4:34 pm
I live in CA, and got my ballot last week.
It’s ready for mailing…one stamp on the envelope, and off it goes!
Easy as kittens!
–RKJ
R.J. Carter October 27th, 2014 at 10:33 am
Whey you say, “one stamp on the envelope,” I’m assuming the envelope came with your ballot and it was pre-stamped.?
arc99 October 27th, 2014 at 4:07 pm
No. You have to supply your own stamp here in California.
Part of those budget cutbacks conservatives are so fond of.
So you see, even we commies out here on the west coast can be fiscally responsible occasionally.
R.J. Carter October 27th, 2014 at 4:26 pm
But… but… but isn’t that a poll tax?!?
majii October 26th, 2014 at 8:54 pm
GOPTP politicians and some of their Voter ID-embracing supporters never seem to learn that when they try to suppress the votes of certain groups, it only makes members of those groups more determined to vote than ever. The new Voter ID laws don’t only affect People of Color, they affect women, college students, and the elderly, too.
Keith October 29th, 2014 at 9:53 pm
Aaahhhh, the suppression myth once again. I am all for suppressing any illegal vote. But evidently, Democrats want them counted as well.
mikeb112 November 1st, 2014 at 4:06 pm
silly majii. GOP suppressed voters so MORE voters turned out? How does that happen?
rwagg October 26th, 2014 at 11:44 pm
Silly liberals.
Pilotshark October 27th, 2014 at 9:34 am
why? cause voting should be for republicans only?
silly rabid rabbit 🙂
Candide Thirtythree October 27th, 2014 at 4:25 am
It is not the vote that counts but who counts the votes and we all know republicans cheat.
u_go_guys October 27th, 2014 at 10:30 am
Chris Christie says GOP gubernatorial candidates need to win so they control ‘voting mechanisms’.
Candide Thirtythree November 3rd, 2014 at 1:41 am
Exactly!
R.J. Carter October 27th, 2014 at 9:35 am
Early voting is a great convenience — but why are the votes counted and the results released early, rather than waiting until the polls actually close?
Anomaly 100 October 27th, 2014 at 11:44 am
I get a kick out of voting at the polls. That’s just me though. Also, I have to be the first in line. That means my vote really counts more!
R.J. Carter October 27th, 2014 at 12:13 pm
I’m the same way. Being first in line at the polls is like being first in line (a week ahead of time) for the next Hobbit film. 🙂
Anomaly 100 October 27th, 2014 at 12:19 pm
Here’s a voting song for you on Nov. 4th. You’re gonna love it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6IhjsITCsM
M D Reese October 28th, 2014 at 1:50 am
They’re not. But their party affiliation is apparently public information.
R.J. Carter October 28th, 2014 at 9:20 am
Okay, that’s not how I initially interpreted those numbers.
M D Reese October 28th, 2014 at 3:19 pm
In my state, we have more unaffiliated voters than most, so we can never tell by just the registration. One of the reasons is that the GOP made “their” primary private many years ago, so Democrats aren’t allowed to vote in it. I promptly changed my registration from Democrat to Undeclared, and I’ve been voting in “their” primary ever since.
R.J. Carter October 28th, 2014 at 3:31 pm
I’m sure they’re playing the game the other way, too. Which means if everyone ends up doing it, we end up having to select the best choice from the least qualified of each party. Which actually explains a lot.
M D Reese October 28th, 2014 at 3:42 pm
In my state, if you don’t vote in the GOP primary, you really don’t have a say.
Pilotshark October 27th, 2014 at 9:43 am
got my ballot, sat down Friday night had a few shots, cast my vote placed in enveloped and mailed Saturday morning.
like the mail in voting here in Oregon easy simple relaxing and kind of enjoyable.
M D Reese October 28th, 2014 at 1:49 am
I’d like to see it nation-wide. Voting should be easy and give people a positive feeling about participating. It’s also a lot harder to screw with voter intimidation at the polls. That is the most un-American thing that I can think of–trying to PREVENT people from voting. In my state I can vote early starting two weeks before the election. I like it–I’m usually the only one there, and it’s pleasant. The clerk told me that they have had more people voting early in this election than ever.
BoydCrowder22 October 27th, 2014 at 10:29 pm
Was a no Brainer in NC…DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD…and NO NO NO
Ann Ferreira October 28th, 2014 at 10:45 am
I hope the heck the dems in Maine get out, or our current nitwit governor will be re-elected. Yikes!! I voted yesterday and there were quite a few people, hopefully that’s a good sign for Michaud!
William October 28th, 2014 at 11:16 am
I also live in Maine. One would have thought that by now Cutler would have dropped out, because his persistence is futile and liable to give Buffoon Lepage and his chief of staff (daughter) another term.
Blue2016 October 28th, 2014 at 10:49 am
Sorry for being a little off-topic, but for those who have not heard the news, Alaska is back in play for the Senate! 🙂
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/29/upshot/latest-alaska-polls-show-surprising-shift-toward-mark-begich.html
Lickylick October 28th, 2014 at 1:40 pm
I find it so sad that people have this belief that they do not have healthcare. That being forced to buy insurance means they will then have healthcare. Everyone in the country has healthcare at their county or parish hospital. You will not be turned away like you seem to think. being forced to buy a policy that insures you is NOT healthcare. That policy only guarantees that you will pay a large monthly premium and an astronomical deduction before any of your expenses are reimbursed. Reimbursed, that also is a term that does NOT mean you will get healthcare, it means an insurance company first gets to scrutinize any remitted costs for reimbursement in order to deny those claims. But don’t bother sending them in until you spend around $10,000 of your own money for the yearly deductible. Yes I said yearly, as in $10,000 +/- $1000. Kinda like a property tax on mega ultra steroids. Pay up every year plus monthly premiums plus all those co pay amounts. Yea!!!!!! Healthcare reform is really just so great. I am curious, where do all those poor people get the funds to even pay those huge deductibles and monthly premiums?
Denise October 29th, 2014 at 8:59 am
you’re an idiot! since when did Churches provide healthcare! the emergency room is more expensive.
Keith October 29th, 2014 at 9:50 pm
Wow, even more idiocy. Where were churches even mentioned? Nowhere.
Denise October 29th, 2014 at 9:03 am
too bad the gop don’t spend as much energy trying to attract new voters as they do in suppressing their votes. despite the voter supression, democrats will still win because: 1 they have right on their sude, 2 they registered new voters. the gop didn’t because they are too busy trying to be exclusive and suppressing votes. 3. people don’t like it when you try to take away their votes. when that happens, it makes them more determined to vite, en masse
Keith October 29th, 2014 at 9:48 pm
What idiocy. Get educated then come back and demonstate some intelligence.