Voter Turnout

Overview

Explore North Carolina voter turnout across decades of primaries and general elections in U.S. presidential and non-presidential election years. To explore statistics and visualizations from the most recent election, visit 2020 General Election Turnout.

General Election Turnout Stats

Turnout in Presidential Election Years: 1972-Present

Election	Total Registered Voters	Total Ballots Cast	Turnout Percentage
2020 General	7,359,798	5,545,848	75.35%
2016 General	6,914,248	4,769,640	68.98%
2012 General	6,639,131	4,540,488	68.40%
2008 General	6,262,566	4,354,052	69.53%
2004 General	5,526,981	3,551,675	64.26%
2000 General	5,122,123	3,015,964	58.88%
1996 General	4,277,000	2,513,357	58.76%
1992 General	3,817,380	2,611,850	68.40%
1988 General	3,432,040	2,134,370	62.19%
1984 General	3,270,933	2,239,051	68.45%
1980 General	2,774,844	1,855,833	66.88%
1976 General	2,553,717	1,677,906	65.70%
1972 General	2,357,645	1,518,612	64.41%

Turnout in Non-Presidential Election Years: 1974-Present

Election	Total Registered Voters	Total Ballots Cast	Turnout Percentage
2018 General	7,089,657	3,755,778	52.98%
2014 General	6,628,521	2,918,052	44.02%
2010 General	6,172,787	2,700,393	43.57%
2006 General	5,567,424	2,036,451	36.58%
2002 General	5,003,297	2,349,966	46.97%
1998 General	4,700,799	2,012,149	42.80%
1994 General	3,635,875	1,533,728	42.18%
1990 General	3,347,635	2,068,904	61.80%
1986 General	3,080,990	1,591,330	51.65%
1982 General	2,674,787	1,330,630	49.75%
1978 General	2,430,306	1,135,814	46.74%
1974 General	2,279,646	1,020,367	44.76%

Voting Method in Presidential Election Years: 2008-Present

Election	Absentee By-Mail	One-Stop Early Voting	Election Day In-Person	Provisional
2020 General	18%	65%	16%	<1%
2016 General	4%	62%	33%	<1%
2012 General	5%	56%	38%	<1%
2008 General	5%	55.5%	38.5%	<1%

Percentage of total voters who used each method; Source: statewide voter history

Primary Election Turnout Stats

Turnout in Presidential Election Years: 1988-Present

Election	Total Registered Voters	Total Ballots Cast	Turnout Percentage
2020 Primary	6,940,995	2,164,731	31.19%
2016 Primary	6,511,143	2,323,590	35.69%
2012 Primary	6,296,759	2,182,675	34.66%
2008 Primary	5,765,303	2,182,215	36.86%
2004 Primary	5,177,764	846,542	16.35%
2000 Primary	4,930,310	868,593	17.62%
1996 Primary	4,034,233	781,980	19.38%
1992 Primary	3,527,187	975,446	27.66%
1988 Primary	3,191,502	953,759	29.88%

Turnout in Non-Presidential Election Years: 1990-Present

Election	Total Registered Voters	Total Ballots Cast	Turnout Percentage
2018 Primary	6,674,290	957,627	14.35%
2014 Primary	6,516,126	1,028,600	15.79%
2010 Primary	6,105,831	880,128	14.41%
2006 Primary	5,460,054	651,086	11.92%
2002 Primary	4,999,736	1,060,667	21.21%
1998 Primary	4,547,438	805,319	17.71%
1994 Primary	3,544,095	430,838	12.16%
1990 Primary	3,147,867	538,651	17.11%