Wake Forest voters cast 9,354 ballots in the first 10 days of early voting, 22% of the town's registered voters, and in-person turnout is 63% ahead of 2022. Voting ends Oct. 31.
Voters who live in Wake Forest cast 9,354 ballots in the first 10 days of early voting for the Nov. 3 election. That is about 22% of the town’s registered voters, with six days of early voting left.
In-person turnout is running 63% ahead of the same point in the 2022 midterm.
The figures come from the N.C. State Board of Elections absentee and early voting file, updated Sunday, Oct. 25, with ballots through Saturday, Oct. 24. Wake Forest Journal counted accepted ballots and matched them to the state’s voter files for Wake County and Franklin County, dated Oct. 18, which record whether each voter lives inside the town limits.
The numbers so far
Through Saturday, Oct. 24:
| Wake Forest voters | Wake County | |
|---|---|---|
| In-person early votes | 8,863 | 179,686 |
| Mail ballots returned and accepted | 491 | 10,417 |
| Total ballots | 9,354 | 190,103 |
| Registered voters (active and inactive) | 41,954 | 868,206 |
| Share who have voted | 22.3% | 21.9% |
The Wake Forest column covers voters inside the town limits in both Wake and Franklin counties. People who registered after Oct. 18 are not in the registered count, so the shares are approximate.
Sixty Wake Forest voters used same-day registration to register and vote at once.
The busiest day was Friday, Oct. 16, when 1,144 Wake Forest voters cast a ballot. Weekdays have run between 884 and 1,144. The one Sunday so far, with five hours of voting, drew 492.
Ahead of the 2022 midterm
The 2022 comparison counts everyone with a Wake Forest mailing address, because the town’s limits have grown since then. That takes in some homes outside the town limits.
Early voting in 2022 also ran 17 days, starting Thursday, Oct. 20. In its first 10 days, 8,776 voters with a Wake Forest address cast an in-person ballot, according to the state’s 2022 early voting file. This year’s first 10 days brought 14,270, an increase of 63%.
- Across all of early voting in 2022, Wake Forest-address voters cast 16,735 in-person ballots. This year has already reached 85% of that.
- Countywide, in-person early votes rose 66% over the same 10 days, from 108,171 to 179,686.
- Mail voting is down. By the same point in 2022, 1,294 mail ballots from Wake Forest addresses had been accepted, against 893 this year.
Where Wake Forest is voting
Any Wake County voter can use any of the county’s 18 early voting sites. Most Wake Forest voters stayed in town:
- Joyner Park Community Center, 701 Harris Road: 7,291 Wake Forest voters
- Abbotts Creek Community Center in north Raleigh: 763
- Youngsville Armory, Franklin County’s site in Youngsville, about five miles north: 403
- every other site combined: 406
Counting voters from everywhere, Joyner Park took 13,075 ballots. That makes it the sixth busiest of Wake County’s 18 sites. The John M. Brown Community Center was busiest, with 15,672.
By party registration
Registered Democrats in Wake Forest have voted at the highest rate so far. Party registration does not show how anyone voted. The figures include mail ballots.
| Party registration | Ballots cast | Registered | Share who have voted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | 3,800 | 11,924 | 31.9% |
| Unaffiliated | 3,841 | 18,846 | 20.4% |
| Republican | 1,685 | 10,891 | 15.5% |
| Libertarian | 24 | 267 | 9.0% |
Unaffiliated voters are the town’s largest group and have cast the most ballots. Four of the town’s 26 registered Green Party voters had also voted.
What it means for you
- Early voting ends Saturday, Oct. 31, at 3 p.m. Sites are open 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. weekdays, according to our voting guide, which has the full schedule.
- Free rides. Go Wake Forest gives fare-free rides to and from Joyner Park through Oct. 31. Here is how to book one.
- You can still register and vote the same day at any early voting site through Oct. 31, with proof of where you live.
- Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, with polls open 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. On Election Day you must vote at your own precinct.
- The ballot has federal, state, judicial and county races and Wake County’s $680 million school bond. There are no Town of Wake Forest races this year.
- North Carolina asks voters to show photo ID. A voter without one can fill out an ID Exception Form.
- Questions go to the Wake County Board of Elections.
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