2022 Primary Election Turnout

North Carolina’s 2022 statewide primary election was on Tuesday, May 17, 2022. The purpose of a primary is to narrow the field of candidates for the general election. The May 2022 election was unique because it included municipal contests rescheduled from 2021. On this page, you can explore turnout statistics for North Carolina’s 2022 primary election and comparative statistics for recent even-year statewide primary elections.

Overall Turnout

Breakdown of voter turnout for North Carolina’s 2022 primary election:

  • Eligible voters: 7,236,469
  • Ballots cast: 1,432,819
  • Turnout: 20%

Voting Methods

Breakdown of voting methods in North Carolina’s 2022 primary election:

  • Absentee by mail: 2%
  • Early voting: 39%
  • In person on Election Day: 59%
  • Provisional: <1%

Voter Turnout by Race

The table below shows the breakdown of voter turnout by race in North Carolina’s 2022 primary election.

Table 1: North Carolina Voter Turnout by Race in the 2022 Primary Election
RaceVotesVotersTurnout (%)
Asian8,674111,4617.8%
Black or African American261,1701,490,23617.5%
American Indian or Alaska Native7,19653,83813.4%
Two Or More Races4,39342,81210.3%
Other15,320218,4497.0%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander414958.3%
Undesignated47,929612,8977.8%
White1,087,6304,759,94422.8%

Voter Turnout by Ethnicity

The table below shows the breakdown of voter turnout by ethnicity in North Carolina’s 2022 primary election.

Table 2: North Carolina Voter Turnout by Ethnicity in the 2022 Primary Election
EthnicityVotesVotersTurnout (%)
Hispanic or Latino13,767250,4975.5%
Not Hispanic or Not Latino1,163,4535,186,81322.4%
Undesignated255,1331,852,82313.8%

Absentee By Mail and Early Voting

Explore North Carolina’s 2022 primary election absentee by mail and early voting PDF reports:

Early Voting Stats

In the table below, see the number of voters who cast a ballot in person during the early voting period, by ballot party type.

Table 3: North Carolina Early Voters by Ballot Party Type in the 2022 Primary Election
Election - Ballot Party TypeEarly Voters
2022 Primary - Democratic Ballot295,732
2022 Primary - Republican Ballot287,657
2022 Primary - Nonpartisan Ballot1,762
Total585,225

Comparative Statistics

Below, explore the turnout data for recent North Carolina statewide primary elections.

Previous Statewide Primary Voter Turnout

In the table below, see the breakdown of voter turnout for the four most recent statewide primary elections, including two midterm and two presidential-year primary elections.

Table 4: North Carolina Voter Turnout for Recent Primary Elections Prior to 2022
ElectionEligible VotersBallots CastTurnout (%)
2020 Primary6,940,9952,164,73131%
2018 Primary (midterm)6,674,290957,62714%
2016 Primary6,511,1432,323,59037%
2014 Primary (midterm)6,516,1261,028,60016%

Previous Statewide Primary Voting Methods

In the table below, see the breakdown of voting methods in the four most recent statewide primary elections, including two midterm and two presidential-year primary elections.

Table 5: North Carolina Voting Methods for Recent Primary Elections Prior to 2022
ElectionAbsentee By Mail (%)Early Voting (%)In Person on Election Day (%)Provisional (%)
2020 Primary1%36%62%<1%
2018 Primary (midterm)1%30%69%<1%
2016 Primary2%29%68%~1%
2014 Primary (midterm)1%25%74%<1%

Previous Statewide Primary Voter Turnout, by Party

In North Carolina primary elections, voters affiliated with a political party may only vote for their party’s ballot and may not vote in another party’s primary. Unaffiliated voters may choose any one political party’s ballot or a nonpartisan ballot (if available). In the tables below, see the breakdown of voter turnout in the four most recent statewide Democratic and Republican primary elections.

Note: Data for the Libertarian primary elections were not included for comparison since was no Libertarian primary in 2022.

Democratic Primary Turnout

Table 6: North Carolina Democratic and Unaffiliated Voters in Recent Democratic Primary Elections Prior to 2022
ElectionDemocrats Who VotedUnaffiliated Who Voted
2020 Democratic Primary954,976388,381
2018 Democratic Primary (midterm)431,875112,481
2016 Democratic Primary928,660231,909
2014 Democratic Primary (midterm)450,19460,873

Republican Primary Turnout

Table 7: North Carolina Republican and Unaffiliated Voters in Recent Republican Primary Elections Prior to 2022
ElectionRepublicans Who VotedUnaffiliated Who Voted
2020 Republican Primary606,822201,614
2018 Republican Primary (midterm)294,295113,425
2016 Republican Primary846,545309,414
2014 Republican Primary (midterm)393,439112,728

Data sources: voter history stats for 2020, 2018, 2016, and 2014 primary elections.

Previous Statewide Primary Absentee By Mail and Early Voter Turnout

In the 2018 statewide primary, over 295,000 North Carolinians voted early or absentee by mail. Explore the daily absentee by mail and early voting PDF reports here: 2018 May 8 Election - Absentee Request Stats PDFs (folder).

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