Early voting closes with more than 10K ballots cast

Macon County's early voters turned out in numbers exceeding that of 2022 in a non-presidential election year, according to State Board of Elections data. Note: the final results for the 2026 general election were not known as of the Press' print deadline. Coverage of the results will be posted on The Franklin Press Facebook page and online at thefranklinpress.com. Look for full coverage in the Nov. 11 print edition. According to the Macon County Board of Elections, 10,645 total voters (of 29,876 registered) cast their ballots early from Oct. 15 to Oct. 31. Of those, 2,067 were Democrats (45.99% of 4,494 registered Democrats), 4,362 (34.08% of 12,797 registered) were Republicans and 4,183 (33.76% of 12,390) were Unaffiliated. Four Green Party voters turned out (of 14 total), and 29 Libertarians (of 181 total). Macon County voters have turned out for the 2026 general election with a modest increase in voter turnout from previous non-presidential election years. In 2018, 8,869 (33.6%) of 26,342 eligible voters turned out to vote early. In 2022, 9,657 (35.6%) of 27,966 registered voters turned out, and this showed for a 1.1-bump in turnout to 35.6%. Non-presidential election years always see less impressive turnout among voters. In 2020, early voting in Macon County saw 16,455 (60.58%) of 27,162 registered voters turnout, and in 2024, 16,127 (54.57%) of 29,551 showed up. North Carolina turnout data suggests more and more voters take advantage of early voting each year, progressing from 19% of ballots in 2006 to 53% in 2022 for non-presidential election years. This trend is also present for presidential elections. With this in mind, the minor bump in overall turnout in 2026 for Macon County may not reflect the overall turnout in the election, but it does represent record turnout for early voting in Macon County. Macon County BOE Director Melanie Thibault said, "I know firsthand how much work goes into running an election, and I am incredibly grateful for the people who show up, step up, and give it their all. To my staff, thank you for everything you do day in and day out. To our Early Voting poll workers, thank you for your time, patience, and willingness to serve our community." Thibault gave special thanks to Deputy Director Judy Fritts, elections assistant John Williams and office helper Edna Morgan for helping keep early voting running. Voter turnout in the United States is low compared to many other nations. While a record-setting 66% of registered voters came out to vote in the 2020 presidential election, Norway's lowest rate of the past 80 years of parliamentary elections was 75.85%, and Australia's lowest since 1946 was 89.74%. North Carolina is a bit ahead of the curve compared to the rest of the nation, seeing a high of 75.35% in 2020, but even here turnout in non-presidential elections remains low, hovering mostly in the 40s. Total early voting turnout for the state was 2.7 million, 35.52% of 7.89 million registered voters. Even so, Macon County's 35.6% turnout narrowly beats the state turnout for early voting.

Early voting closes with more than 10K ballots cast

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