Iredell Sees Surge In Voter Turnout: 'It Was A Very Good Year'

IREDELL COUNTY, NC — While North Carolina awaits the final results of this week's General Election, one thing is apparent — state voters turned out in droves to cast their ballots. In Iredell County, voter turnout was higher than that of the state level.

As of Friday, about 5.5 million of North Carolina's nearly 7.4 million eligible voters had cast ballots in the General Election, representing a statewide voter turnout of 74.5 percent. In the 2016 General Election, North Carolina recorded voter turnout of 68.9 percent

This year's election turnout numbers, however, do not reflect legally cast mail-in ballots that were received after Nov. 3 or provisional ballots that are being processed by election officials. Those increases will be tallied and announced statewide by Nov. 13.

As of Friday, Iredell County Board of Elections had received an estimated 600-700 absentee ballots and was researching 341 cast provisional ballots.

SEE ALSO: NC Election: How Many Provisional Ballots Were Cast In Iredell

"The turnout was great, it was a very good year," said Becky Galliher, director of Iredell County Board of Elections.

In Iredell county, at least 101,638— or 77.7 percent — of eligible voters cast their ballot this year, according to unofficial data provided by the North Carolina State Board of Elections.

In 2018 midterm elections, 65,804 Iredell voters — or 54.1 percent — of registered voters participated. In the 2016 General Election, 82,963 voters participated, representing a voter turnout of 70.5 percent.

Elections at Iredell's 29 voting precincts took place thanks to the work of hundreds of election workers and volunteers, Galliher said.

"They are our election heroes because they stepped up to the plate when so many wouldn't," she said.

SEE ALSO:

• COVID-19 Testing In Iredell: Where To Get A Free Test In November
• COVID-19 Hospitalizations Rise In Iredell County: ICHD
  
• Iredell 2020 Election Results: Trump's Support Dips From 2016