North Carolina early voting tops 733,000 ballots as tornado-hit counties recover

As of 9:26 a.m. ET, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026

North Carolina voters had cast 733,299 accepted ballots, in person and by mail, through the first five days of early voting, according to North Carolina State Board of Elections data. GROKsiNEWS.com earlier reported the first-morning count.

Mail ballot deadlines

Today, Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 5 p.m. is the deadline to request an absentee ballot by mail, according to the State Board's election dates page. The State Board's mail voting instructions say the county board of elections must receive a request by that time.

Completed mail ballots must be received by the voter's county board of elections by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 3, the State Board says. It notes that state law no longer allows a grace period for ballots postmarked by Election Day and received afterward. Voters can also return a completed absentee ballot in person to their county board of elections office or to an early voting site in their county, but not to a polling place on Election Day. Deadlines differ for military and overseas voters.

Turnout so far

The State Board's statewide count file was last updated at 4:41 a.m. ET Tuesday, and its ballot-level file at 5:19 a.m. ET; neither had changed when checked at 8:05 a.m. ET. Together they show 689,133 ballots cast in person at early voting sites and 44,166 accepted mail ballots, including those from military and overseas voters. The files count ballots through Monday, Oct. 19, so Tuesday's voting is not yet included.

In-person ballots by day, according to the ballot-level file:

• Thursday, Oct. 15: 203,243
• Friday, Oct. 16: 197,692
• Saturday, Oct. 17: 61,737
• Sunday, Oct. 18: 24,542
• Monday, Oct. 19: 201,918

The file dates one more in-person ballot Oct. 14. It marks 3,805 in-person ballots as cast by same-day registrants. Counts can change as counties update their records.

In Cumberland County, the file shows 17,284 accepted ballots of all types, in person and by mail. Duplin County shows 2,206.

Sites, ID and same-day registration

Early voting runs through 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, at 370 sites statewide, the State Board said in an Oct. 9 release. Voters may use any early voting site in their county. Election Day is Nov. 3.

All voters will be asked to show photo ID, the State Board said. Voters who forget their ID can vote a provisional ballot and bring the ID to the county elections office by noon Nov. 10. Voters unable to show ID can vote a provisional ballot with a Photo ID Exception Form. Registered voters can get a free photo ID from their county board of elections through the end of early voting.

People who missed the Oct. 9 registration deadline can register and vote at the same time during early voting. They must attest to their eligibility and show proof of where they live, such as a driver's license or other government document, paycheck, utility bill or bank statement with their current name and address, according to the State Board. Its Oct. 2 release added that same-day registrants must also show acceptable photo ID.

The Oct. 11 tornadoes

Tornadoes formed across central and eastern North Carolina on Oct. 11 as the remnants of Hurricane Isaias moved through, according to the National Weather Service office in Wilmington. The North Carolina State Climate Office wrote that, as of Oct. 13, the Weather Service had confirmed 13 tornadoes in the state. The office said that was the most in a single day since Aug. 3, 2020.

Fayetteville area. In an Oct. 15 update, the National Weather Service office in Raleigh rated the Bonnie Doone tornado in Cumberland County an EF2 with estimated peak winds of 115 mph. The tornado traveled 5.99 miles from near Skibo and Morganton roads, and one person was injured. No one was killed. A separate EF1 tornado with peak winds of 105 mph touched down near Linden in Cumberland County.

Duplin County. The National Weather Service office in Newport/Morehead City rated the Duplin tornado an EF2 with estimated peak winds of 125 mph. The office said it touched down 2 miles west of Wallace at 1:38 p.m. and traveled 24.43 miles to Potters Hill. No deaths or injuries were reported. The survey said a pig farm was destroyed.

Statewide, power outages peaked at just over 22,000, Gov. Josh Stein's office said on Oct. 11. On Oct. 12, Stein said there had been no reported injuries from the storm, WXII reported. The Weather Service's Oct. 15 Bonnie Doone survey update lists one injury.

Recovery and voting in affected counties

Cumberland County Emergency Services is asking residents to report storm damage online through CrisisTrack, including photos and a written description, the county said in an Oct. 14 release. Residents may take yard waste to county container sites. Commercial loads and limbs longer than 3 feet or thicker than 3 inches must go to the Wilkes Road Compost Facility, 771 Wilkes Road, Fayetteville.

The county said Oct. 18 that power had been restored at the Smith Recreation Center, 1520 Slater Ave., Fayetteville, and that early voting there would open that day from 2 to 5 p.m. The release did not say what caused the outage. The Cumberland County Board of Elections can be reached at 910-678-7733.

Duplin County's Disaster Assistance page, which does not mention the Oct. 11 storm, lists federal, state, local and nonprofit recovery resources. The county elections board's early voting schedule lists two sites, with weekday hours of 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and Saturday hours of 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Oct. 24 and 31. The board can be reached at 910-296-2170.

The State Board's press releases through Oct. 19 do not announce any storm-related voting changes. As of Tuesday morning, the governor's office had not posted an executive order declaring a state of emergency for the storm, and state emergency officials had not released a statewide damage or injury count.