CHARLOTTE, N.C. — There is exactly one week until Election Day, and this year it will undoubtedly look very different.
About 3.4 million people have already cast their ballots in North Carolina. In Mecklenburg County, a record number of votes have come from absentee ballots and early voting. WCNC Charlotte is looking into what that means for Election Day.
Election officials said it could be a quieter Election Day because the vast majority of votes will already be in.
The long early voting lines this year look very different than four years ago during the presidential election of 2016.
“Make sure you vote,” said Jennifer Everhart, who voted early.
Between early voting and the record number of absentee ballots, the vast majority of people are expected to have voted by Election Day in Mecklenburg County; Elections Director Michael Dickerson estimates 460,000 people will have cast their votes by then.
“That’s about how many people we voted in the entire 2016 presidential general election,” said Dickerson.
If that estimate is true, it’s nearly six times the number of people expected to vote on Election Day, according to Dickerson.
“About 80,000 people to vote on Election Day,” said Dickerson.
Dickerson said that could mean shorter lines than usual for Election Day.
“It may make Election Day a little, shall we say, quieter at the polling places,” said Dickerson.
The pandemic is another reason this Election Day will look different. Dickerson said they’ll have the same safety procedures on November 3rd as they do for early voting.
“We’re going to socially distance people, we are going to have masks, shields, sneeze guards,” said Dickerson.
However, tens of thousands of people are still expected to vote before then. While the deadline to request an absentee ballot has passed, there’s still several days of early voting left.
“Please don’t wait until the last minute,” said Dickerson.
Early voting goes through 3 p.m. on Saturday, and that’s expected to be a busy day.