The results of the 2024 General Election won’t be known until at least three weeks from now; however, the voting process in most parts of the country – including North Carolina and Guilford County – is already underway.
So, there’s already some hard data regarding the election, and one of those interesting points of information is which party is sending in the most ballots by mail – the earliest way there is to vote.
The Rhino Times requested details regarding the status of the absentee ballots that have been coming into the Guilford County Board of Elections office, and, currently, as of Tuesday, Oct. 15, the office has accepted a total of 2,834 ballots by mail for the November 5 General Election, and, so far, 1,233 of those votes have been from Democratic voters while 724 ballots have been sent in by people registered as Republicans.
Also, in the 2024 election, 658 unaffiliated voters have sent in or returned their votes to the election’s office, while 19 “other” ballots came in as well.
In Guilford County there are 390,868 registered voters as of mid-October 2024 – with 156,313 registered as Democrats, 90,132 registered as Republicans and 140,974 who are registered as unaffiliated.
That means there are about 63 percent more registered Democrats in the county than Republicans, so it makes sense that more Democratic ballots would be cast by mail at any point in time. However, even factoring in the fact that there are about 66,000 more registered Republicans, the Democratic ballots are coming in faster.
Supporters of Democratic Presidential Nominee Kamala Harris might like hearing that – since North Carolina is too close to call and Guilford County is a county with both a rural population and two big cities – but there are lots of reasons to say that, even though this may be a good sign for Democrats, it has to be taken with many grains of salt.
Because there are so many mitigating factors.
To name just a few: the sample size is small; Republicans tend to like to vote in person more so than Democrats; even though more ballots from Democrats have been cast, it’s not known who those registered Democrats voted for.
Guilford County Board of Elections Director Charlie Collicutt said on Tuesday that it’s also very hard to compare these numbers to those in the 2020 election – in which Donald Trump won the state of North Carolina – because 2020 was the year of COVID, and that pandemic threw everything out of whack, especially when it came to absentee by mail voting.
“This year we sent out about 15,000 absentee ballots by mail; in 2020, it was 70,000,” the elections director said.
“The 2020 election was such an outlier,” Collicutt said.
That year, the year of COVID, even told us less than usual about mail-in voting because Trump was telling his supporters that the system was rigged and that they needed to vote in person in order to help ensure their vote actually counted.
Some have even theorized that that stance by Trump was a major part of the reason he lost to President Jo Biden. People may plan to hold off their vote until Election Day, but that’s taking a big chance because cars break down, weather events may force people to stay home, there could be a family emergency, and, in some cases, the person who intends to cast a vote might die before Election Day.
A fairer use of a baseline, if one wanted to compare early voting numbers across the years, might be the 2016 Presidential Election. During that General Election, which was won by Donald Trump, the Guilford County Board of Elections Department accepted 9,669 mail-in ballots and, of those, 3,217 registered Democrats mailed in ballots or used the mail-in process, while 4,000 Republican voters did.
That year, 2,414 unaffiliated voters cast their vote by mail, as did 29 other voters.
“factoring in the fact that there are about 6600 more registered Republicans”
You meant 66,000 more registered Democrats, not 6600 Republicans. You might want to check your other math too since you left a pesky zero off your numbers.
Guilford County is solidly blue. You should still go vote though if you want to keep the state red.
In 2016 the percent of registered voters in N.C. were 39% Dem, 30% Repub, and 30% UNA. Today the numbers are 31% Dem, 30% Repub, and 38% UNA. In N.C. Dems continue to decrease in registered voters, Repubs stay about level, and UNA’s continue to grow. Dems have gone too far left of center. Many N.C. Democrats have left the party and decided they just can no longer stomach those liberal policies. Remember when you vote the highest inflation in the last 40 years took a huge amount out of your family budget. Record homicide rates in 2023 for Greensboro. Southern border disaster resulting in record overdose deaths toppling 120,000/year and a growing child sex trafficking tragedy in the USA of immigrant children by Mexican drug cartels and gangs.
A doubling of war deaths in the world with conflicts in Europe and the Middle East the last four years. Decreasing school test scores and chronic student absenteeism. Ask yourself if you feel safer in your community? When you go to the grocery store or fill up your gas tank or pay your rent or mortgage with increased property taxes, is your money going further or shorter? Are the students in the schools performing better for a brighter future? Remember, GCS test scores are 6 to 7 points lower than state test scores. We need a change folks. The last four years have been a disaster under Biden/Harris. We need a change in our local Dem controlled School and County Commissioner Boards. The families in our area deserve better.
God Bless America!! God bless North Carolina!! God bless our world!!
Very informative. Thanks for laying it out in simple terms, for us.
Why are we allowing mail-in ballots, a strong potential source of voter fraud. Absentee ballots are needed to allow those outside their home of record to exercise their right to vote, such as the military or those whose work take them away. This mail-in crap is just that…crap, along with this voting season garbage. As I have said before, I can see allowing early voting starting the weekend prior to Election Day, but no sooner then that, and it needs to be IN PERSON VOTING WITH STATE/FEDERAL ISSUED ID, NOT THIS BRING A POWER BILL TRASH!!!
State IDs in NC are free. And these BS arguments about people can’t get to the DMV to get an ID is just that, BS. People can pack a car or van with people to bring them to vote so why can’t they do the same for those that need a State issued ID. DMV can even set up dates, times and lines for just that purpose. Next excuse.
These clowns in the (National Socialist) Democrat Party have perverted the system against the American people in order to gain and consolidate their power. Harris and her VP candidate puppet are prime examples of what we face unless We the People wake up and take back what is ours. I’m not advocating rebellion, I’m advocating enforcement of the 10th Amendment of the Constitution…oh I forgot, we don’t teach real Government in schools anymore because it takes away from sex-ed and nap time.
Conservatives hold a veto proof majority over the Governor so why blame democrats? Oh right, you are a drama queen who thinks those that disagree with you are evil cheaters regardless of facts, evidence or actual truth of lack of any mass voter fraud at the State or Federal level of elections.
Stop being such a drama queen with your made of fears and lies. It really is sad.
kettle, pot, black…nuff said
yet again, Alan can’t defend his own statement. Not shocked.
Kinda simple logic since Guilford County has far more democrats than republicans. Heck the proportion even looks evenly distributed based on prior year election results as Dems out number Rep 2 to 1 per 2020 election results.
Guilford county is a bit of a foregone conclusion anyway.
NO DUH! The Republican machine is already challenging mail in ballots from armed services members overseas, you can expect them to challenge every mail in ballot submitted. As Alan has made it painfully obvious, if you aren’t physically able to vote in person the day of the election, you should not have a vote.
Just to clear up your error…military personnel vote absentee, not mail in.
As for the physically able comment, how did they do it before the (NS)DP got this extended voting season garbage going?
I’m sorry, active military outside the US request an absentee ballot by USPS, receive an absentee ballot by USPS, complete the ballot and mail it back in by USPS. Very similar to how absentee ballots for non-military voters are handled
Between 1941 and the 1970s, only active military and other federal employees outside the country could vote absentee. Back then, the times you oh-so long to return to, Alan, if you couldn’t physically get to the polls, you could not vote and were, therefore legally disenfranchised.
Each unit designates an officer with the additional duty of dealing with absentee ballots. I was assisting the unit voting officer in the 80’s.
People who are physically unable to get to a polling place can vote absentee as well.
I absolutely disagree with you Whodunnit. Disabled people have as much right to vote as anyone. My wife is disabled and has to vote absentee ballot. I am glad she has that right. You need to give more thought to what you said.
It’s Alan Marshall who thinks your wife is a fraud for voting.
How many ballots are from people 137 years old or whatever? That was the problem with Guilford County’s list of registered voters last general election. There were hundreds of deceased people still on the books. If it’s illegal to “conceal” a death and a death certificate is on file, how hard can it be for big brother’s department A to share information with big brother department Z?
They only use & share our data when they want money or power.
Perhaps because Republicans are leery of using mail-in ballots. To9o much fraud occurs with mail-ins, as was proven over and over in 2020, particularly by the postal whistleblowers. Republicans are taking advantage of early voting, as proven by the record #s on the first day.
What proof? There is zero evidence of mass fraud of any kind. If you have magically found it, please share.
I may be wrong, but I think this don’t mean a thing. Nor does the tally of yard signs you see.