CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Voters made their way to the polls across North Carolina and South Carolina Tuesday, hoping to make their voices heard in the 2020 election. But with record-breaking early and absentee voting in both states, Election Day polling lines looked a bit different this year.
Complete WCNC Charlotte election results for the Carolinas: /elections
Across York County, South Carolina, many voters were relieved to find little-to-no wait at their polling location -- aided by the fact that a record-breaking number of South Carolinians voted early. A historic 37 percent of all voters in that state requested an absentee ballot.
From longtime voters to first-timers, many in South Carolina said this election was crucial to them.
"I need my voice to be heard so my children can see they can make a change as well," one York County voter said.
In North Carolina, record-breaking early voting numbers may have also impacted Election Day lines.
In Gaston County, more than 95,000 people voted via early and absentee voting -- a 63 percent turnout of the 150,000 eligible voters in the county. In 2016, Gaston County had a 67 percent overall turnout for early, absentee and in-person, Election Day voting.
"I have been looking forward to doing this for weeks," one Gaston County voter said. "This is just the first opportunity I've had to come and vote."
As of Tuesday morning, more than 5,700 people cast their ballot on Election Day in Gaston County, bringing the total number of votes countywide to more than 101,700 and counting. That means well before final voting numbers have been confirmed, Gaston County already surpassed its 2016 total votes of 96,820.
"We always joke it's our Super Bowl if you will, and it feels good to be here," the Gaston County Director of Elections said. "It's been a challenging six months with, you know, running an election in a pandemic is not the easiest thing in the world to do, so it's good to get to this point."
With so many mail-in ballots this year, there's a good chance America won't know who won on Election Day. Several states, including North Carolina, will continue to count absentee ballots that are received after Election Day. The state won't certify any results until Nov. 24, at the absolute earliest.