More than 35,000 early voters at Mecklenburg County polls set single-day record

North Carolina voters surged to the polls on Thursday, the first day of early voting, with Mecklenburg County setting a single-day record and voters statewide doubling the first-day numbers of 2016.

More than 35,000 Mecklenburg County residents visited polling sites Thursday, county elections officials said. That eclipsed the county’s previous single-day record for early voting, nearly 30,000, set in 2016, and the 13,000 votes cast on the first day of that year.

Statewide, more than 333,000 people voted Thursday, compared with the 166,000 on the first day of early voting in 2016. State officials said the turnout appeared to have broken the record set in 2016.

Aside from long lines at some polling locations, state elections officials said few problems emerged. Mecklenburg County officials said a poll worker in SouthPark gave a voter incorrect information about absentee ballots.

In Gaston County, elections director Adam Ragan found 10 to 15 people lined up when he got to work at 5:45 a.m.

“They wanted to get it over with and be the first,” Ragan said. By 2 p.m., about 3,200 Gaston residents had voted. Wait times ran up to two hours for curbside voting, he said, but those standing in line had average waits of 45 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes.

Long lines formed Thursday morning outside 33 Mecklenburg County polling sites that opened on the first day of early voting for a momentous election. Some voters waited several hours to take part.

About 100 people waited for the 8 a.m. voting to start outside Spectrum Center in uptown, the largest of the sites, and a handful were already in line when Charlotte Hornets employees started arriving at 6:15 a.m. In order to maintain social distancing, voters formed a zig-zag line familiar to Disney World visitors. Voters were wanded with hand-held metal detectors as they entered the building.

At least 150 voters equipped with coffee, masks and voting guides stood in line before voting began at the Bojangles Entertainment Complex on Independence Boulevard. Voters stood apart for social distancing, many wearing masks or face shields.

2:30 p.m.:

Nearly 30 people were in line to vote at Ardrey Kell High School in Ballantyne. Valeria Hernandez said she went there on the first day of early voting to make sure her schedule didn’t get in the way of casting her vote later on.

“And to not send a ballot (by mail) that who knows if it would get counted,” she added.

1:30 p.m.:

Fewer than 30 people were lined up outside the building at Mallard Creek High School. Voter Ron Caldwell said he had waited for about 25 minutes before voting.

“It’s definitely time for a change,” Caldwell said. “We can’t take another 4 years .... There has to be a positive change.”

12:47 p.m.:

Julian Seaton, waiting to vote at the Shoppes at University Place polling station on J.W. Clay Boulevard, said he had been in line since 9:30 a.m. He was near the front of the line by 12:30 and said the line then — of still more than 100 people — was much smaller than it had been Thursday morning.

“Normally it’s not like this, but I don’t mind,” he said.

12:30 p.m.:

Chichi Nwankwo had been waiting at Shoppes at University Place since 9 a.m. This will be her first time voting in a United States election — she became a citizen in 2018 after coming to the U.S. in 2008 as an international student. She said she feels voting is her duty.

“It is my right to vote,” she said. “I really want my voice to be heard.”

At Bojangles, the long line had shrunk to more than a dozen people, and voters said they could quickly get in and back out. Tents were set up for voter information drives and free barbecue.

10:57 a.m.:

Cars backed up onto West Boulevard and around the parking lot of the library branch there for curbside voting. The car at the front had been in line for 2 1/2 hours. Dozens more cars were parked in a grassy field across from the library, and the line of waiting voters reached to the street.

“It’s critical to vote in order to make America great again,” Harold Rodgers, 65, said as he explained why he’d been willing to wait at least two hours to vote. The Democrat said he supported Joe Biden for president.

“I’m not very excited about Biden,” he said, “but I’m damn sure not excited about Trump.”

10:56 a.m.:

More than 60 people were lined up to vote at the Allegra Westbrooks Regional Library on Beatties Ford Road in north Charlotte. Many in line brought folding chairs, prepared for a long wait.

Joann Roots, who had been standing in line for nearly an hour, said voting is always important — but especially this time.

“Because Trump is the president — we need to get him out of office,” she said. To anyone worried about long lines, she added: “Vote. Stand in line. Be prepared.”

James Slade came prepared and had stood been in line for about 40 minutes.

“If you can wait in line for a pair of Jordans or that Popeye’s chicken, you can wait in line to vote,” Slade said. “This is more important.”

10:40 a.m.:

David McLean had waited 35 minutes when he reached the midpoint of the line at Garinger High School just after 10 a.m. McLean, 50, planned to vote for the Biden-Harris ticket and “mostly Democrats” down the ballot. He identified handling of the pandemic, health care, economic recovery, racial unity and affordable housing as his top issues.

”I wanted to make sure that at the first opportunity I had, to cast my vote to make a change of the direction of our nation,” he said. “The spirit of leadership and candor of persons in office needs to be reflective of the entire society and I don’t feel we have that now.”

McLean said he believes mail-in voting will be safe and work well this year, but that he had a personal conviction to vote in person. ”I wanted to come in person to make sure it was done,” he said.

9:52 a.m.:

The line at Spectrum Center that grew to about 200 people early Thursday had disappeared by 9:30 a.m., although surges were expected at lunchtime and later in the day. Voters moved quickly through the 38 stations at the center, with most leaving the building about 20 minutes after they entered it.

9:50 a.m.:

A line of waiting voters wrapped around the building at Garinger High. One woman said she had arrived at 8:05 a.m. and was done by about 9:45.

8:52 a.m.:

“Vote like your ancestors died for it” read the face mask that Johnella Walker wore at Spectrum Center, where she was one of the first voters in line.

Walker, who has lived in Charlotte for 14 years, called it “almost disrespectful” not to vote.

“It really hit me when I saw all the judges (on the ballot),” she said. “This isn’t just about the president ... I don’t think people realize how much we do have a voice.”

Walker said she felt safe with the COVID-19 precautions in place.

“A lot of people are concerned, and I get that absolutely,” she said. “But it was important my vote was cast. I did get a little squirrelly about mailing it. There is something exciting about just punching (votes) into the machine.”

8:44 a.m.:

Andre Richardson, 66, said he’s usually no farther than fourth in line when he votes early every election. On Thursday morning his count put him at sixth, after making a last-minute decision to go to the Bojangles complex instead of Spectrum Center.

Richardson, who lives in Mint Hill, said he likes to keep his voting choices private. But he ranked health care, Social Security and social justice as top issues.

”I came out to vote because there is so much disparity in America,” he said. “I was more encouraged to vote this time than ever before in my life. Things in America are not how they should be, which actually it never has, but there’s a chance for everyone to voice their opinion, vote and see if we can be a positive change.

“Hopefully we’ll get on the right track after this election.”

Married couple Candy and Brian Elkins of Chantilly said they also always vote early. Brian, 69, wore a “Make America Great Again” hat at Bojangles, while Candy donned an American flag mask. Both said they were voting to re-elect President Donald Trump. Among their top issues, they said, was preventing what they say is a turn to socialism in the United States.

”I don’t want to become a socialist state,” Brian Elkins said. “That’s one step before communism.”

He said Trump “seems to care about America, contrary to what the other side says. He’s not a lifetime politician. That’s a good thing.”

Candy Elkins, 64, said her concerns stem from not wanting the government to control “every aspect of life,” including health care.

Voters will decide races for president, U.S. Senate and House, governor and lieutenant governor, the legislature, statewide offices such as attorney general, state appellate and district court judges and county commissioner.

The Biden campaign on Thursday released two ads featuring singer Mary J. Blige urging North Carolina residents to vote early. Former President Barack Obama was featured in a get-out-the-vote message for N.C. voters on Tuesday.

Early voting will continue through Oct. 31. The sites will be open 8 a.m.-7:30 p.m. on weekdays, 8 a.m.- 3 p.m. on Saturdays and 1-5 p.m. on Sundays.

The Mecklenburg County Board of Elections approved large venues, including Bank of America Stadium and Bojangles, to allow social distancing this pandemic year. Free parking and public transit is available at uptown’s Spectrum Center, the largest of the voting sites with 38 stations.

Hand sanitizer and masks are available for voters, as well as Q-tips to safely use equipment. Surfaces will be cleaned frequently, and there will be barriers between poll workers and voters at check-in tables, among other safeguards outlined by the State Board of Elections.

Apart from early in-person voting, 1.3 million North Carolina voters had requested absentee ballots as of Wednesday— about 8 times the number of requests at this same point in the 2016 elections — and more than 530,000 ballots had been cast.

In 2016, Democrat Hillary Clinton won 62% of the Mecklenburg County vote for president and Donald Trump 33%. Democrats outnumber Republicans by two-to-one in the county, but unaffiliated voters account for 35% of the county’s 781,000 voters.

A total of 284,054 county residents voted early in 2016, with the largest numbers in the days just before the Nov. 8 election.

Staff writers Rick Bonnell, Lauren Lindstrom, Jim Morrill and Hannah Smoot contributed.

This story was originally published October 15, 2020 at 8:43 AM.