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ELECTIONS 2022 View unofficial results on the Election Results Dashboard.
NCSBE »   Results & Data »   Voter Turnout »   2022 Primary Election Turnout

2022 Statewide Primary Election Turnout

Overview

North Carolina's 2022 statewide primary was 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 also included municipal contests rescheduled from 2021. Visit our Local Voter Tool for a full list of local contests,

Explore turnout statistics for the May 2022 elections as they become available, as well as comparative statistics for recent even-year primary elections.

2022 Statewide Primary Voter Turnout

In the table below, see the breakdown of voter turnout for North Carolina's 2022 primaries. *Numbers will be updated after canvass.

Election

Eligible Voters

Ballots Cast

% Turnout

2022 Primary 7,236,469 approx. 1.4 million* approx. 20%*

 

2022 Statewide Primary Voting Methods

In the table below, see the breakdown of voting method used by voters in North Carolina's 2022 primaries. *Numbers will be updated after canvass.

Election

Absentee By Mail

One-Stop Early Voting

In Person on Election Day

Provisional
2022 Primary approx. 2%* approx. 39%* approx. 59%* <1%

Absentee-by-Mail and One-Stop Early Voting

In North Carolina, absentee voting refers to ballots cast by mail, as well as those cast in person during the one-stop early voting period. This section will include data related to absentee voting in the 2022 primary election as it becomes available.

Daily absentee PDF reports:

  • 2022 May 17 Election - Absentee Request Stats PDFs (Folder)
  • 2022 May 17 Election - Absentee Stats PDFs (Folder)

One-Stop 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. *Numbers will be updated after voter history is finalized.

Election - Ballot Party Type Number of Early Voters*
2022 Primary - Democratic Ballot 279,775
2022 Primary - Republican Ballot 277,656
2022 Primary - Nonpartisan Ballot 1,560
Total 558,987

Comparative Statistics

Below, explore the turnout data for recent statewide primaries. Navigate the visualizations at the bottom of the page to find early voting data for recent statewide primaries.

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 primaries and two presidential-year primaries.

Election

Eligible Voters

Ballots Cast

% Turnout

2020 Primary 6,940,995 2,164,731 31%

2018 Primary (midterm)

6,674,290

957,627

14%

2016 Primary 6,511,143 2,323,590 37%
2014 Primary (midterm) 6,516,126 1,028,600 16%

Previous Statewide Primary Voting Methods

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

Election

Absentee By Mail

One-Stop Early Voting

In Person on Election Day

Provisional
2020 Primary 1% 36% 62% <1%

2018 Primary (midterm)

1%

30%

69%

<1%
2016 Primary 2% 29% 68% ~1%
2014 Primary (midterm) 1% 25% 74% <1%

Previous Statewide Primary Voter Turnout, by Party

In the tables below, see the breakdown of voters who voted in the four most recent statewide Democratic and Republican primary elections, broken down by voters' party affiliation. Data for the Libertarian primary elections were not included for comparison since there will be no Libertarian primary in 2022.

Democratic Primary Turnout

Election

Democrats Who Voted

Unaffiliated Who Voted

2020 Democratic Primary 954,976 388,381

2018 Democratic Primary (midterm)

431,875

112,481

2016 Democratic Primary 928,660 231,909
2014 Democratic Primary (midterm) 450,194 60,873
Republican Primary Turnout

Election

Republicans Who Voted

Unaffiliated Who Voted

2020 Republican Primary 606,822 201,614

2018 Republican Primary (midterm)

294,295

113,425

2016 Republican Primary 846,545 309,414
2014 Republican Primary (midterm) 393,439 112,728

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

Previous Statewide Primary Absentee by Mail and One-Stop

For the 2018 statewide primary, more than 295,000 North Carolinians voted via one-stop early voting or absentee by mail.

Daily absentee PDF reports from 2018 are available here:

  • 2018 May 8 Election - Absentee Request Stats PDFs (Folder)

Below, explore the number of one-stop ballots cast per day during the early voting period, as well as the overall number of absentee-by-mail ballots accepted by county board of elections. To narrow in on specific data, filter by county and/or one-stop early voting site. Use the > arrow button at the bottom of the visualization to navigate to tab 2, where you can see these data broken down by political party. 

Voter Turnout

  • 2022 Primary Election Turnout
  • 2021 Municipal Election Turnout
  • 2020 General Election Turnout

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Raleigh NC 27611-7255

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