The start of early in-person voting in North Carolina brought out more people compared to the first day of the last midterm election in 2014.
The state elections board said Thursday that close to 133,000 people cast ballots statewide on Wednesday's first day of early voting. In 2014, the total was just over 121,000.
This year's early voting period covers 18 days through November 3. The 2014 cycle covered 10 days. While the 2014 election featured a U.S. Senate race, there is no such high-profile statewide race this year.
Nearly 149,000 ballots have been cast when mail-in absentee ballots are included. The total appears to reflect energy among Democratic voters. Registered Democrats account for 43 percent of the current turnout, while comprising 38 percent of the state's 7 million registrants.