Large early voting turnout in Orange County could affect Election Day

The first wave of ballots is in.

But the significance of larger early voting numbers is still up for debate.

Almost twice as many people voted early this year than during the last municipal election in 2007 — 2,345 compared to 1,271, said Tracy Reams, the Orange County Board of Elections director.

This election’s hotly contested races may be the reason for the overall increase in votes, Reams said.

But voter turnout is still low relative to presidential elections.

In the 2008 race, 75,194 people voted, including 51,961 early, for a total turnout of 71 percent of registered voters, Reams said.

Reams said she hopes for a 20 percent turnout this election, but even that may be unlikely.

There are 70,143 registered voters this year, which means a 20 percent turnout would require more than 14,000 ballots to be cast. With the 2,345 early votes, almost 11,700 Election Day votes would be needed to reach Reams’ target.

In the last municipal election, 8,525 people voted on Election Day, Reams said.

Reams said she could not predict what the early voting results indicated for Tuesday.

“In 2008, we knew numbers would be high just because there were so many early voters,” she said. “But it’s hard to tell when the early numbers are low. Will there then be a high percentage on Election Day? Or will it just not be high at all?”

Suepinda Keith, an election official at the Morehead Planetarium early voting location, said although she was pleased with the turnout, it could be a negative sign for Tuesday.

“One-stop (voting) correlates to a decline in Election Day crowds,” she said. “People see it as more convenient, so they decide to vote early instead of on Election Day. That takes away from the number of Election Day voters.”

But she said she thinks the recent presidential race will keep people involved and engaged and more likely to vote in the municipal elections.

People were able to vote early at Morehead Planetarium, Carrboro Town Hall or the Board of Elections Conference Room in Hillsborough.

There were 1,308 ballots cast at the planetarium, 904 in Carrboro and 133 in Hillsborough, compared to 572, 564, and 135, respectively, in 2007, Reams said.

Early voting for Orange County municipal elections ended at 1 p.m. Saturday and was completed over three intervals: October 15-16, 19-23 and 26-31.

There is no difference between an early voting ballot and an Election Day ballot. All ballots are sealed and will not be opened until polling places close Tuesday night, Reams said.

On Tuesday, registered voters must use their designated polling places, which are determined by the precinct in which they live and can be found on their voter cards. Voting at a polling place other than the one they have been assigned is not permitted.


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