Nearly quarter of state's early voters didn't cast ballots in NC in 2016

More than 3.3 million people have either voted early in person or mailed in an absentee ballot. Nearly a quarter of them didn't vote in 2016, according to State Board of Elections figures.

Of the 24 percent who are voting this time around after not voting in the last presidential election, most weren't even registered to vote in North Carolina back then.

Rachel McConnell just cast her first North Carolina ballot after recently moving from Texas – one of hundreds of thousands of people who’ve relocated to the Tar Heel State in recent years. She said she was thrilled to see the record high turnout so far.

"As a millennial, as somebody who’s kind of grown up with lots of people being disenchanted with the whole voting experience, I’m excited to see the high numbers. I feel like all generations are turning out," McConnell said. "I think people are tired of seeing all of the division and all of the anger. I think people really want to see a change in our nation."

WRAL voter guide: Learn about candidates, when and where to vote

"We may be moving towards record turnout, which, you know, that’s what we’re in this for," Brinson Bell said. "We want to ensure that every voter has the ability to cast their vote, and if they’re turning out this year, that’s the best thing we could have happen."

Early voting runs through 3 p.m. Saturday. But people have only until 5 p.m. Tuesday to request an absentee ballot if they don't want to or cannot get to a polling place either for early voting or on Election Day next week.

The looming absentee deadline means it's too late to mail in a request, Brinson Bell said.

"The best option is for voters to use the online absentee portal that we launched this year," she said. "It’s a very simple process, and that’ll make sure that they have an electronic submission before the 5 p.m. deadline."

The U.S. Postal Service has confirmed it can get mail-in ballots requested by Tuesday to voters before Election Day, she said, but the completed ballot will have to be postmarked by Election Day, Nov. 3, to be counted.

Brinson Bell urged voters who have already received absentee ballots and still plan to vote by mail to send their ballots in as soon as possible to guarantee that they are processed by Election Day.