Source: The Center Square
North Carolina is the first battleground state to initiate the voting process by sending out absentee by mail ballots on Friday.
Delaware has implemented a law allowing absentee by mail ballots to be sent out “60 days before Election Day.”
In other battleground states, absentee by mail ballots are sent out 50 days before the election in Pennsylvania, 47 days in Wisconsin, 45 days in Michigan, 25 to 29 days in Georgia, and 24 to 27 days in Arizona. The timeline for Nevada is not specified.
These seven states collectively hold 93 electoral college votes: Pennsylvania has 19, North Carolina and Georgia each have 16, Michigan has 15, Arizona has 11, Wisconsin has 10, and Nevada has 6.
In North Carolina, in-person early voting will begin in 44 days, and Election Day is 63 days away.
Same-day registration is available during the early in-person voting period in North Carolina; otherwise, the registration deadline is October 11.
Recent voter registration data shows a total increase of 11,793 voters from the previous week. Among the new registrations, Democrats decreased by 1,205, Republicans increased by 2,622, and unaffiliated registrations rose by 6,772.
As of January 1, 2004, North Carolina’s registered voters were composed of 47.6% Democrats, 34.4% Republicans, and 17.7% unaffiliated. As of the latest data, the breakdown is 37.6% unaffiliated, 31.6% Democrats, and 29.9% Republicans.
In the 2020 election, Democrats comprised 35.6% of the more than 7.3 million registered voters, unaffiliated voters were 33.3%, and Republicans were 30.3%. In the 2022 midterms, the proportions shifted to 35.6% unaffiliated, 33.7% Democrats, and 30% Republicans.
Regarding ballot access, parties that sought to appear on the ballot this summer include the We The People Party with 255 registrations, the Constitution Party with 86 registrations, and the Justice For All Party with zero registrations. The Justice For All Party gained ballot access through a legal case initiated by three Fayetteville residents against the State Board of Elections.
Other parties with ballot access options include the Green, Libertarian, and No Labels parties. The Libertarian Party has nearly 50,000 registered members, No Labels has over 17,000, and the Green Party has just under 3,000 members.