ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Early voting in Asheville and the rest of Buncombe County has already broken the midterm record, and there are still two days to go. County officials said Thursday afternoon that 79,938 people had cast early ballots, with the polls open into the evening.
That passes the previous midterm high from 2018, which topped 78,000, and well exceeds the 70,371 early voters the county logged in 2022. Thursday was the 14th day of early voting, and Lilian Govus, the county’s communications director, released the running total at 3 p.m.
Elections Director Corinne Duncan said at a briefing that voting has gone smoothly, with no major problems at the polls. The Weaverville Community Center has been among the busiest sites, where more than 9,200 voters had turned out through Wednesday. About 250 poll workers are staffing the 13 early voting locations.
Duncan said ballots are checked every day by poll workers and again by staff, then audited after the election by matching voter sign-in forms against ballots, check-in computers and tabulators.
Early voting runs Friday from 8 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. and ends Saturday, Oct. 31, with shorter hours of 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Officials expect Saturday to be the busiest day and are urging people to come Friday if they can. In Asheville, sites include the East Asheville Library at 3 Avon Rd., the North Asheville Library at 1030 Merrimon Ave., the West Asheville Library at 942 Haywood Rd. and the Wesley Grant Southside Center at 285 Livingston St.
People who are not registered can still sign up and vote the same day during early voting if they bring an acceptable photo ID plus proof of where they live.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. The county’s 80 precincts open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m., staffed by roughly 600 poll workers.
Section: More Asheville NC politics news
Filed under: Asheville NC Politics News
