Midterm elections: Where does Asheville, Buncombe rank thus far for early voter turnout?

ASHEVILLE - Buncombe is among the top counties for voter turnout, after almost two months of mail-in ballots and two days of early in-person voting − but overall, the county is behind where it was in 2018, mirroring a statewide trend.

Through Oct. 21, Buncombe had the fourth-highest turnout, 5.5%, of the state's biggest 10 counties, according to North Carolina Board of Elections data. Buncombe is the seventh of 100 counties by population and number of registered voters.

The highest county turnout was in Durham with 6.8%

While many people still vote on Election Day, Nov. 8, early in-person voting has become the most popular form of casting a ballot in the state. Mail-in voting also gained popularity during the pandemic.

Early in-person voting continues until Nov. 5. Mail-in ballots must be delivered to the Board of Elections by Nov. 8 or postmarked by that day.

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A total of 11,592 voters had cast ballots in Buncombe since the Sept. 8 start of mail-in voting and the two days, Oct. 20-21, of early-in person voting. Most of them, 9,706 happened during in-person voting, Buncombe Election Services data showed.

That was down from 2020, when voters were energized by a presidential election. But it was also down from 2018, which like this year is a midterm with the biggest races being congressional, said Corinne Duncan, county election services director.

"I was confident that we would have higher turnout this time, because each comparable election has been bigger than the last," Duncan, who has worked in Buncombe elections for seven years, including as director, said Oct. 24.

"That is the trend across the state, we are seeing a little bit lower turnout so far."

In 2020, Donald Trump's contentious attempt at reelection helped draw out 22,272 voters in the first two days, more than two times the number of this year.

In 2018, there were 11,426, significantly fewer than the presidential election, but still more than the current tally.

Duncan did not have mail-in numbers for this period in 2018, but said the combined total for early in-person and mail-in from four years ago was still larger than now.

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The drop is unusual, because many factors point to the likelihood of bigger numbers. Those include more registered voters, U.S. Senate and U.S. House races that will help determine control of Congress, $70 million in county affordable housing and open space preservation bonds on the ballot, a first-in-history Asheville City Schools board election and municipal contests that only recently moved from odd-year elections to even years.

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"It might be that the ballot is so big," said Duncan.

She said people should check out their sample ballots. "And I think we need to remind people that there is something they care about on those ballots. Don’t be intimidated by the length of the ballot, find the things you care about and research those," she said.

More:Go here to find your sample ballot

Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Got a tip? Contact Burgess at jburgess@citizentimes.com, 828-713-1095 or on Twitter @AVLreporter. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville, Buncombe near top in early voting, but lower than 2018