Mecklenburg’s voter turnout ‘low’ despite topping last midterm primary, official says

A greater percentage of Mecklenburg County voters turned out for Tuesday’s primary than in the last such non-presidential election, in 2018, county Board of Elections data show.

But county elections officials still consider the turnout “low,” Kristin Mavromatis, public information manager for the elections board told The Charlotte Observer on Wednesday.

“It’s easier to double your numbers when it’s already so low,” Mavromatis said, referring to a doubling of the number of absentee ballots the county has received so far compared with the 2018 primary.

With all 195 precincts reporting, 13.98% of Mecklenburg voters showed up at the polls Tuesday, unofficial results showed, compared with 11.07% in 2018, according to the data.

In all, 109,279 out of 781,598 eligible Mecklenburg voters cast a ballot Tuesday, according to unofficial elections board data.

By comparison, 27.12% of eligible county voters cast a ballot in the March 2020 presidential primary, and 31.91% in the March 2016 presidential primary, county elections results show.

Tuesday’s results are unofficial because absentee ballots aren’t due until Friday, elections officials said. Those ballots had to be postmarked by Tuesday, officials said.

Elections officials are still counting provisional ballots, and final primary results won’t be official until May 27, Mavromatis said.

A precinct-by-precinct breakdown of voter turnout percentages in Mecklenburg also won’t be available for weeks, she said.

Board of Elections data show 41,126 people voted early in Mecklenburg. and the board approved 1,994 by-mail absentee ballots.

By comparison, 68,536 people voted early and 2,693 by absentee ballot in the March 2020 primary. In the 2018 primary, 20,270 voted early and 756 by absentee ballot, board data shows.

Holding the Charlotte City Council and mayoral primaries Tuesday could partly explain the uptick in voter turnout, Mavromatis said. Those two midterm primaries are normally held in odd-numbered years, officials said.

“It does make it different,” she said of Tuesday’s primary.

COVID also could factor into the increase in absentee ballots, she said. The higher overall voter turnout also could be “a sign of the times,” she said. “People are more in tune because of everything that’s going on.”

Voter turnout across region, NC

Turnout was even stronger in neighboring counties and statewide, N.C. Board of Elections data shows.

Lincoln had the strongest turnout among neighboring counties at 19.79%, followed by Iredell, 18.06%; Cabarrus, 16.15%; Gaston, 16.09%; and Union, 15.28%.

Statewide, 19.66% of eligible voters turned out for Tuesday’s primary, elections data showed.