Harris or Trump NC 2024 | Campaigns are looking for signs in early voting data in battleground North Carolina

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — With Election Day just days away, we're getting a better look at the early voting data and what it means as North Carolina plays an important role as a state.

With dueling rallies looming this weekend, more than half of North Carolina's registered voters have already spoken out as we're on pace to break records.

To date, over 50 percent of registered voters have cast their votes by mail or in person. In 2020, overall voter turnout was 75 percent.

The latest statewide data also shows a breakdown of who showed up.

According to the data, as of Oct. 31, 1,306,879 registered Republicans had voted, followed by 1,273,131 independent voters and 1,256,454 registered Democrats — a roughly even split, but with the GOP holding a slight turnout edge.

In terms of ethnicity, the electorate so far is 70% white and 18% black, meaning black turnout is slightly below the 20% share of registered black voters in North Carolina.

SEE ALSO | North Carolina Ballot Tracker

There is also a wide gender map, with women making up 56 percent of turnout compared to 44 percent of men.

And while no one has a crystal ball, both parties believe the numbers look promising. Republicans believe their slight increase in voter turnout is due to a shift in strategy toward early voting.

“The biggest surprise still remains when you look at all the counties across North Carolina. There is no district where Democrats are doing better today than they were four years ago. As for their number of votes. So the Democratic vote is down significantly.” “And that's really a reflection of the fact that people are rejecting Kamala Harris and her message and are ready to put the disaster of the last four years behind them,” says NCGOP Chairman Jason Simmons .

Democrats assume that early Republican voting means fewer red voters on Election Day. They also believe that the high number of women voting, coupled with the number of unaffiliated voters who they believe will ultimately lean blue, is a good sign.

“We are encouraged by the number of women over 55% of voters who have been in favor of early voting so far, a demographic that Republicans in our state are frankly strategically targeting. To make sure that they take back the rights that women have earned and that they're particularly interested in protecting young voters at the ballot box this year, even though we've been talking to them over the last year or two and making sure that “There are so many eligible voters that young people know who is protecting their rights,” said Anderson Clayton, chairman of the NC Democratic Party.