ProPublica and WRAL News partnered in the summer of 2020 to analyze data on absentee by-mail ballots cast in the 2018 general election in North Carolina. The analysis used absentee data published by the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
Analysis was performed in SQL and Python by Sophie Chou, of ProPublica, and Tyler Dukes, of WRAL News. ProPublica data reporter Haru Coryne reviewed the code and analysis.
In North Carolina, absentee ballots include both ballots cast at early voting locations (also called "one-stop" voting) well as those cast by mail. Both types of ballots are included in the state's absentee data, which details all ballot requests by North Carolina voters. Click here for the full SQL queries generating the results below.
This analysis focuses solely on absentee by-mail ballots in 2018 returned to county election officials, since some ballots sent to voters go unreturned or unreturned ballots are automatically spoiled if a voter casts a ballot in person or submits a duplicate ballot by mail. Per the suggestion of the State Board of Elections, we define returned ballots in the data as ballot requests with valid return dates.
That narrows the data down to 104,091 individual mail-in ballots returned in 2018. Because voters can submit new ballots if previous ones are rejected, this total includes duplicate ballots if a voter returned more than one.
| Race | Count | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| WHITE | 78,161 | 75.1 |
| BLACK or AFRICAN AMERICAN | 14,915 | 14.3 |
| UNDESIGNATED | 5,011 | 4.8 |
| ASIAN | 2,516 | 2.4 |
| OTHER | 2,161 | 2.1 |
| TWO or MORE RACES | 756 | 0.7 |
| INDIAN AMERICAN or ALASKA NATIVE | 571 | 0.5 |
Absentee data includes cases where voters submit multiple requests for absentee ballots and return multiple ballots to county election officials in cases where previous attempts have been rejected. Based on ncid, there are 2,284 voters (with a total of 4,638 requests) who have submitted multiple requests for mail-in ballots and returned them, with a maximum of 4 returns. For the vast majority of these duplicates, the number of returns is two.
| Request count | Voter count |
|---|---|
| 2 | 2,217 |
| 3 | 64 |
| 4 | 3 |
Overall, 6,520 out of 104,091 ballots returned during the 2018 election were rejected, a 6.3% rejection rate. Click here for the full SQL queries generating the results below.
| Ballot return status | count | percent |
|---|---|---|
| ACCEPTED | 97,571 | 93.7 |
| VOTER SIGNATURE MISSING | 2,825 | 2.7 |
| WITNESS INFO INCOMPLETE | 1,678 | 1.6 |
| RETURNED AFTER DEADLINE | 878 | 0.8 |
| SPOILED | 771 | 0.7 |
| NOT PROPERLY NOTARIZED | 159 | 0.2 |
| RETURNED UNDELIVERABLE | 134 | 0.1 |
| SIGNATURE DIFFERENT | 33 | 0.0 |
| PENDING | 27 | 0.0 |
| DUPLICATE | 10 | 0.0 |
| CONFLICT | 5 | 0.0 |
We can use the race field to further break these rates down by demographics, both in raw numbers and percentages.
| Ballot return status | White | Black | Undesignated | Two or more races | Other | Asian | Indian American |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACCEPTED | 74,388 | 12,893 | 4,730 | 699 | 1,997 | 2,338 | 526 |
| VOTER SIGNATURE MISSING | 1,718 | 819 | 104 | 28 | 68 | 71 | 17 |
| WITNESS INFO INCOMPLETE | 759 | 735 | 68 | 10 | 39 | 55 | 12 |
| RETURNED AFTER DEADLINE | 585 | 158 | 51 | 15 | 30 | 33 | 6 |
| SPOILED | 455 | 235 | 40 | 1 | 18 | 12 | 10 |
| NOT PROPERLY NOTARIZED | 117 | 28 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | NULL |
| RETURNED UNDELIVERABLE | 91 | 30 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 3 | NULL |
| PENDING | 22 | 1 | 2 | NULL | 1 | 1 | NULL |
| SIGNATURE DIFFERENT | 19 | 10 | 1 | NULL | 3 | NULL | NULL |
| DUPLICATE | 6 | 3 | 1 | NULL | NULL | NULL | NULL |
| CONFLICT | 1 | 3 | 1 | NULL | NULL | NULL | NULL |
| Ballot return status | White | Black | Undesignated | Two or more races | Other | Asian | Indian American |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACCEPTED | 95.17 | 86.44 | 94.39 | 92.46 | 92.41 | 92.93 | 92.12 |
| VOTER SIGNATURE MISSING | 2.20 | 5.49 | 2.08 | 3.70 | 3.15 | 2.82 | 2.98 |
| WITNESS INFO INCOMPLETE | 0.97 | 4.93 | 1.36 | 1.32 | 1.80 | 2.19 | 2.10 |
| RETURNED AFTER DEADLINE | 0.75 | 1.06 | 1.02 | 1.98 | 1.39 | 1.31 | 1.05 |
| SPOILED | 0.58 | 1.58 | 0.80 | 0.13 | 0.83 | 0.48 | 1.75 |
| NOT PROPERLY NOTARIZED | 0.15 | 0.19 | 0.10 | 0.26 | 0.19 | 0.12 | NULL |
| RETURNED UNDELIVERABLE | 0.12 | 0.20 | 0.16 | 0.13 | 0.05 | 0.12 | NULL |
| PENDING | 0.03 | 0.01 | 0.04 | NULL | 0.05 | 0.04 | NULL |
| SIGNATURE DIFFERENT | 0.02 | 0.07 | 0.02 | NULL | 0.14 | NULL | NULL |
| DUPLICATE | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.02 | NULL | NULL | NULL | NULL |
| CONFLICT | 0.00 | 0.02 | 0.02 | NULL | NULL | NULL | NULL |
Comparing the rejection rates gives us more detail on potential disparities between demographic groups. Ratios here are calculated by dividing the rejection rate of each racial group by the rejection rate for white voters.
| Racial group | Ratio |
|---|---|
| BLACK or AFRICAN AMERICAN | 2.81 |
| ASIAN | 1.46 |
| INDIAN AMERICAN or ALASKA NATIVE | 1.63 |
By this measure, ballots case by Black voters are rejected at almost three times the rate of white voters.
Even if a mail-in ballot is rejected, there are still options for people who want to get their votes counted. We requested a voter history snapshot from the State Board of Elections as of Jan. 1, 2019, (the closest available to the 2018 election) to see how many of the rejected mail-in ballots were eventually counted some other way. Click here for the full SQL queries generating the results below.
The 6,520 rejected ballots from 2018 were returned by 6,383 unique voters. That's out of a total of 103,072 unique voters with returned ballots.
| Racial group | Voters rejected at least once | Mail-in voters | Percent rejected by racial group |
|---|---|---|---|
| WHITE | 3,721 | 77,545 | 4.80 |
| BLACK or AFRICAN AMERICAN | 1,945 | 14,588 | 13.33 |
| UNDESIGNATED | 274 | 4,978 | 5.50 |
| ASIAN | 178 | 2,500 | 7.12 |
| OTHER | 163 | 2,143 | 7.61 |
| TWO or MORE RACES | 57 | 754 | 7.56 |
| INDIAN AMERICAN or ALASKA NATIVE | 45 | 564 | 7.98 |
Of the 6,383 unique voters whose ballots were rejected at least once, 882 eventually had their mail-in ballots accepted (14%). That leaves 5,501 voters whose mail-in ballots were ultimately received and rejected, or about 5.3% of all mail-in voters.
But even accounting for the multiple requests and eventual acceptances, Black voters have their mail-in ballots rejected at almost three times the rate of white voters, and more than twice the overall rate.
| Race | Count of voters ultimately rejected | Percent of rejected voters | Total voters | Percent of total voters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WHITE | 3,157 | 57.39 | 77,545 | 4.07 |
| BLACK or AFRICAN AMERICAN | 1,695 | 30.81 | 14,588 | 11.62 |
| UNDESIGNATED | 248 | 4.51 | 4,978 | 4.98 |
| ASIAN | 162 | 2.94 | 2,500 | 6.48 |
| OTHER | 146 | 2.65 | 2,143 | 6.81 |
| TWO or MORE RACES | 55 | 1.00 | 754 | 7.29 |
| INDIAN AMERICAN or ALASKA NATIVE | 38 | 0.69 | 564 | 6.74 |
Of those 5,501 voters whose mail-in ballots were returned and ultimately rejected, 4,690 (85%) never had their ballots counted by some other means in 2018.
| Voting method | Count | Percent of total |
|---|---|---|
| UNCOUNTED | 4,690 | 85.26 |
| ABSENTEE ONESTOP | 441 | 8.02 |
| IN-PERSON | 272 | 4.94 |
| ABSENTEE CURBSIDE | 51 | 0.93 |
| CURBSIDE | 33 | 0.60 |
| ABSENTEE BY MAIL | 8 | 0.15 |
| PROVISIONAL | 6 | 0.11 |
| Voting method | Overall count | White count | Black count | Undesignated count | Asian count | Other count | Indian American count | Multi-racial count |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNCOUNTED | 4,689 | 2,789 | 1,353 | 210 | 127 | 123 | 35 | 52 |
| ABSENTEE ONESTOP | 441 | 222 | 156 | 24 | 18 | 17 | 2 | 2 |
| IN-PERSON | 271 | 97 | 137 | 12 | 17 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| ABSENTEE CURBSIDE | 51 | 22 | 29 | NULL | NULL | NULL | NULL | NULL |
| CURBSIDE | 33 | 16 | 16 | 1 | NULL | NULL | NULL | NULL |
| ABSENTEE BY MAIL | 8 | 8 | NULL | NULL | NULL | NULL | NULL | NULL |
| PROVISIONAL | 6 | 2 | 4 | NULL | NULL | NULL | NULL | NULL |
| Voting method | Overall count | White count | Black count | Undesignated count | Asian count | Other count | Indian American count | Multi-racial count |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNCOUNTED | 85.24 | 88.37 | 79.82 | 85.02 | 78.40 | 84.25 | 92.11 | 94.55 |
| ABSENTEE ONESTOP | 8.02 | 7.03 | 9.20 | 9.72 | 11.11 | 11.64 | 5.26 | 3.64 |
| IN-PERSON | 4.93 | 3.07 | 8.08 | 4.86 | 10.49 | 4.11 | 2.63 | 1.82 |
| ABSENTEE CURBSIDE | 0.93 | 0.70 | 1.71 | NULL | NULL | NULL | NULL | NULL |
| CURBSIDE | 0.60 | 0.51 | 0.94 | 0.40 | NULL | NULL | NULL | NULL |
| ABSENTEE BY MAIL | 0.15 | 0.25 | NULL | NULL | NULL | NULL | NULL | NULL |
| PROVISIONAL | 0.11 | 0.06 | 0.24 | NULL | NULL | NULL | NULL | NULL |
About 88% of white voters with returned and rejected ballots never had their ballots counted by some other means other than mail-in. That number is about 80% for Black voters.
But 1,353 Black people who returned a mail-in ballot ultimately never had their votes counted. That's about 9% of the Black voters who returned a mail-in ballot. That rate is twice that of overall mail-in voters and almost three times that of white voters.
| Ballot status | Overall % | White % | Black % | Undesignated % | Asian % | Other % | Indian-American % | Multiracial % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ultimately uncounted | 4.55 | 3.60 | 9.27 | 4.22 | 5.08 | 5.74 | 6.21 | 6.90 |
NOTE: A significant caveat here is that the ncid field, which we're using to match voters from our absentee data to the voter history data, can in some cases change for voters. To account for this, we ran a similar analysis for the "snapshot" voter history file as of Jan. 1, 2019, as well as the voter history file pulled in the summer of 2020. The results were nearly identical.
To compare rejection rates between ballots cast by minority voters and white voters, we used a risk ratio analysis, dividing the rate of ballot rejections in the minority group by the rate of ballot rejections among white voters. The resulting ratio, commonly used in epidemiology, gives an estimate for how much more at risk ballots cast by voters in the minority group were to be rejected. Click here for the full Python notebooks generating the results below.
All minority racial groups were more likely to have their ballots rejected. Black voters were more than twice as likely as white voters to have their ballots rejected.
| Race | Risk ratio compared to ballots cast by white voters | Total rejected ballots | Lower limit, 95% confidence interval | Upper limit, 95% confidence interval |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 2.3621 | 2022 | 2.2726 | 2.4551 |
| Indian American or Alaska Native | 1.6786 | 45 | 1.2402 | 2.272 |
| Two or More Races | 1.5987 | 57 | 1.2228 | 2.0901 |
| Other | 1.5933 | 164 | 1.3633 | 1.8622 |
| Asian | 1.4785 | 178 | 1.2738 | 1.716 |
| Undesignated | 1.1594 | 281 | 1.0323 | 1.3022 |
| All minorities (excluding undesignated) | 1.9886 | 2466 | 1.9235 | 2.056 |
Elections are administered by different boards in each of North Carolina's 100 counties, so we can examine the differences in acceptance rates for each. Click here for the full SQL queries generating the results below.
| County | Overall rate | White rate | Black rate | Undesignated rate | Multi-racial rate | Other rate | Asian rate | American Indian rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NORTHAMPTON | 74.7 | 82.7 | 69.7 | 80.0 | NULL | NULL | NULL | NULL |
| HALIFAX | 75.4 | 81.3 | 71.1 | 100.0 | 33.3 | 100.0 | 66.7 | 71.4 |
| GRANVILLE | 76.7 | 81.8 | 65.4 | 93.3 | 33.3 | 77.8 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| PASQUOTANK | 81.1 | 83.6 | 73.0 | 81.8 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | NULL |
| TYRRELL | 81.3 | 100.0 | 40.0 | NULL | NULL | NULL | NULL | NULL |
| PITT | 82.4 | 84.2 | 79.9 | 85.7 | 75.0 | 78.6 | 86.4 | 75.0 |
| SAMPSON | 82.6 | 89.7 | 72.5 | 66.7 | 100.0 | 100.0 | NULL | 75.0 |
| BEAUFORT | 83.6 | 90.8 | 70.1 | 87.5 | 100.0 | NULL | NULL | NULL |
| VANCE | 83.7 | 95.1 | 73.6 | 75.0 | 100.0 | NULL | NULL | NULL |
| DAVIDSON | 85.1 | 86.2 | 73.4 | 92.1 | 60.0 | 79.2 | 84.6 | 80.0 |
| ROCKINGHAM | 85.7 | 90.1 | 62.8 | 100.0 | 80.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | NULL |
| PERSON | 86.2 | 87.8 | 83.3 | 71.4 | NULL | 100.0 | NULL | 100.0 |
| HOKE | 86.3 | 92.2 | 80.5 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 76.5 | 83.3 | 84.0 |
| WAYNE | 86.4 | 93.0 | 74.2 | 90.7 | 80.0 | 90.9 | 62.5 | NULL |
| HERTFORD | 87.0 | 96.3 | 84.1 | 100.0 | NULL | 100.0 | NULL | 100.0 |
| STANLY | 87.6 | 90.3 | 66.7 | 84.2 | NULL | 100.0 | 83.3 | NULL |
| WILSON | 87.8 | 94.3 | 74.1 | 79.2 | 75.0 | 81.8 | 33.3 | NULL |
| CUMBERLAND | 88.6 | 91.9 | 82.0 | 93.5 | 97.1 | 91.3 | 93.6 | 90.3 |
| BERTIE | 88.6 | 95.2 | 83.3 | 100.0 | 100.0 | NULL | 100.0 | NULL |
| MOORE | 89.1 | 91.7 | 70.5 | 94.0 | 100.0 | 72.5 | 80.0 | 83.3 |
| MADISON | 89.1 | 88.2 | NULL | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | NULL | 100.0 |
| RICHMOND | 89.2 | 94.8 | 80.7 | 83.3 | 100.0 | 71.4 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| EDGECOMBE | 89.4 | 94.8 | 86.3 | 75.0 | NULL | NULL | NULL | NULL |
| NEW HANOVER | 89.4 | 90.1 | 80.5 | 92.7 | 100.0 | 85.7 | 83.3 | 100.0 |
| ALLEGHANY | 89.4 | 90.2 | NULL | 50.0 | NULL | NULL | NULL | NULL |
| GATES | 89.5 | 100.0 | 83.3 | 100.0 | NULL | 50.0 | NULL | NULL |
| SURRY | 90.1 | 90.2 | 84.6 | 82.4 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| CRAVEN | 90.4 | 91.7 | 86.4 | 96.7 | 85.7 | 88.9 | 77.8 | 100.0 |
| DARE | 90.5 | 91.7 | 55.6 | 75.0 | NULL | 66.7 | 100.0 | NULL |
| LINCOLN | 90.8 | 91.3 | 91.2 | 90.0 | 50.0 | 66.7 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| BLADEN | 90.8 | 90.7 | 92.2 | 75.0 | NULL | 66.7 | NULL | 72.7 |
| RUTHERFORD | 90.8 | 91.5 | 68.2 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 75.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| BRUNSWICK | 90.8 | 91.7 | 72.7 | 93.5 | 100.0 | 91.7 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| FRANKLIN | 91.1 | 89.0 | 94.7 | 87.5 | 100.0 | 90.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| CALDWELL | 91.2 | 91.0 | 87.5 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | NULL | NULL |
| DUPLIN | 91.4 | 92.0 | 89.5 | 100.0 | NULL | 100.0 | NULL | NULL |
| FORSYTH | 91.6 | 93.7 | 83.9 | 91.9 | 87.1 | 88.2 | 85.3 | 85.7 |
| HYDE | 91.8 | 95.0 | 75.0 | NULL | NULL | 100.0 | NULL | NULL |
| DURHAM | 91.9 | 93.7 | 82.4 | 94.5 | 98.1 | 92.6 | 88.5 | 88.9 |
| ROBESON | 92.0 | 96.1 | 84.5 | 75.0 | 75.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 95.7 |
| BUNCOMBE | 92.1 | 92.7 | 80.6 | 90.7 | 87.0 | 94.8 | 94.6 | 80.0 |
| HARNETT | 92.1 | 94.4 | 82.6 | 92.6 | 100.0 | 87.8 | 100.0 | 80.0 |
| GUILFORD | 92.1 | 94.5 | 83.5 | 95.0 | 95.0 | 88.5 | 82.7 | 84.6 |
| GREENE | 92.2 | 97.7 | 90.5 | 100.0 | NULL | 100.0 | NULL | NULL |
| CHATHAM | 92.4 | 93.2 | 78.7 | 95.1 | 83.3 | 100.0 | 90.6 | 100.0 |
| MCDOWELL | 92.5 | 92.1 | 100.0 | NULL | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| LEE | 92.7 | 95.6 | 83.7 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 85.7 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| MARTIN | 92.7 | 97.3 | 84.4 | 100.0 | NULL | 100.0 | NULL | NULL |
| NASH | 92.9 | 94.0 | 91.2 | 87.5 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 87.5 | 100.0 |
| JACKSON | 93.0 | 94.0 | NULL | 77.8 | NULL | 75.0 | NULL | 100.0 |
| CATAWBA | 93.6 | 94.0 | 87.0 | 100.0 | 75.0 | 94.1 | 83.3 | 100.0 |
| CLAY | 93.6 | 94.1 | NULL | 100.0 | NULL | 100.0 | NULL | NULL |
| CHOWAN | 94.0 | 96.4 | 85.7 | 100.0 | NULL | 100.0 | NULL | NULL |
| YADKIN | 94.1 | 95.6 | 66.7 | 100.0 | NULL | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| LENOIR | 94.2 | 96.7 | 91.7 | 100.0 | NULL | NULL | 100.0 | NULL |
| CABARRUS | 94.3 | 95.8 | 86.8 | 95.5 | 94.7 | 96.6 | 84.7 | 100.0 |
| MONTGOMERY | 94.3 | 94.6 | 96.8 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 80.0 | 66.7 | NULL |
| BURKE | 94.5 | 96.5 | 77.8 | 85.7 | 100.0 | 88.9 | 83.3 | 100.0 |
| HAYWOOD | 94.5 | 94.2 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| UNION | 94.7 | 95.2 | 89.5 | 97.6 | 100.0 | 93.0 | 96.7 | 100.0 |
| CLEVELAND | 94.8 | 97.2 | 82.5 | 100.0 | 75.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 50.0 |
| CURRITUCK | 94.8 | 94.7 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 66.7 | NULL | 100.0 |
| WASHINGTON | 95.2 | 97.4 | 93.3 | NULL | NULL | NULL | NULL | NULL |
| GASTON | 95.3 | 96.2 | 90.6 | 97.1 | 100.0 | 83.3 | 94.1 | 100.0 |
| CAMDEN | 95.3 | 95.0 | 94.4 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | NULL | 100.0 |
| ROWAN | 95.6 | 97.6 | 86.0 | 96.7 | 80.0 | 83.3 | 95.2 | 66.7 |
| WARREN | 95.8 | 95.9 | 96.7 | 100.0 | NULL | 100.0 | NULL | 100.0 |
| WAKE | 95.9 | 96.5 | 90.9 | 95.3 | 93.7 | 95.1 | 96.3 | 95.5 |
| ANSON | 95.9 | 97.0 | 97.3 | 89.3 | NULL | 100.0 | 100.0 | NULL |
| MECKLENBURG | 96.0 | 97.2 | 92.3 | 93.2 | 90.0 | 94.6 | 95.5 | 89.6 |
| ALEXANDER | 96.1 | 96.0 | 92.9 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | NULL |
| YANCEY | 96.4 | 96.2 | 100.0 | 100.0 | NULL | 100.0 | 100.0 | NULL |
| MACON | 96.4 | 96.9 | 83.3 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 50.0 | 50.0 |
| AVERY | 96.5 | 97.0 | NULL | 88.9 | NULL | NULL | NULL | NULL |
| POLK | 96.7 | 97.1 | 77.8 | 100.0 | 100.0 | NULL | 100.0 | NULL |
| DAVIE | 96.7 | 97.8 | 96.8 | 91.3 | 33.3 | 85.7 | 100.0 | NULL |
| COLUMBUS | 96.8 | 99.3 | 95.6 | 100.0 | NULL | 100.0 | 50.0 | 96.3 |
| WATAUGA | 97.1 | 97.4 | 83.3 | 92.3 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| PENDER | 97.3 | 97.0 | 97.8 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| CASWELL | 97.3 | 99.0 | 91.2 | 100.0 | 100.0 | NULL | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| CARTERET | 97.4 | 97.8 | 91.7 | 100.0 | 33.3 | 100.0 | 100.0 | NULL |
| MITCHELL | 97.5 | 97.4 | NULL | 100.0 | NULL | NULL | NULL | NULL |
| JOHNSTON | 97.6 | 98.7 | 94.2 | 98.6 | 100.0 | 88.6 | 93.8 | 100.0 |
| RANDOLPH | 97.6 | 98.3 | 92.9 | 100.0 | 87.5 | 88.9 | 85.7 | NULL |
| ASHE | 97.8 | 98.1 | NULL | 80.0 | NULL | 100.0 | NULL | NULL |
| SWAIN | 98.0 | 97.8 | 100.0 | 100.0 | NULL | 100.0 | NULL | 100.0 |
| SCOTLAND | 98.1 | 98.5 | 97.4 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 96.3 |
| PAMLICO | 98.4 | 100.0 | 96.1 | 100.0 | NULL | NULL | NULL | 100.0 |
| ONSLOW | 98.6 | 99.3 | 94.8 | 100.0 | 75.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| HENDERSON | 98.7 | 98.8 | 96.9 | 97.8 | 87.5 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| WILKES | 98.7 | 98.6 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | NULL |
| STOKES | 98.8 | 98.8 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | NULL | 100.0 | NULL |
| ORANGE | 99.2 | 99.3 | 97.0 | 99.6 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 97.8 | 100.0 |
| TRANSYLVANIA | 99.4 | 99.3 | 100.0 | 100.0 | NULL | 100.0 | 100.0 | NULL |
| ALAMANCE | 99.7 | 99.7 | 100.0 | 97.8 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| GRAHAM | 100.0 | 100.0 | NULL | 100.0 | NULL | NULL | 100.0 | NULL |
| IREDELL | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| CHEROKEE | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | NULL | NULL | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| JONES | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | NULL | NULL | 100.0 | NULL |
| PERQUIMANS | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | NULL | 100.0 | NULL | NULL | NULL |
| County | Overall accepted ballots | Overall total ballots | Overall rate | White accepted ballots | White total ballots | White rate | Black accepted ballots | Black total ballots | Black rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MECKLENBURG | 13,226 | 13,772 | 96.0 | 9,651 | 9,927 | 97.2 | 2,038 | 2,207 | 92.3 |
| WAKE | 16,416 | 17,126 | 95.9 | 12,782 | 13,249 | 96.5 | 1,356 | 1,492 | 90.9 |
| GUILFORD | 5,538 | 6,013 | 92.1 | 4,104 | 4,343 | 94.5 | 897 | 1,074 | 83.5 |
| CUMBERLAND | 2,336 | 2,638 | 88.6 | 1,098 | 1,195 | 91.9 | 772 | 942 | 82.0 |
| FORSYTH | 4,622 | 5,046 | 91.6 | 3,488 | 3,721 | 93.7 | 762 | 908 | 83.9 |
| DURHAM | 2,871 | 3,125 | 91.9 | 1,992 | 2,127 | 93.7 | 380 | 461 | 82.4 |
| PITT | 787 | 955 | 82.4 | 410 | 487 | 84.2 | 311 | 389 | 79.9 |
| BLADEN | 840 | 925 | 90.8 | 489 | 539 | 90.7 | 332 | 360 | 92.2 |
| CABARRUS | 2,463 | 2,612 | 94.3 | 1,902 | 1,986 | 95.8 | 295 | 340 | 86.8 |
| NASH | 696 | 749 | 92.9 | 395 | 420 | 94.0 | 258 | 283 | 91.2 |
| UNION | 2,468 | 2,605 | 94.7 | 1,902 | 1,998 | 95.2 | 246 | 275 | 89.5 |
| JOHNSTON | 1,535 | 1,573 | 97.6 | 1,133 | 1,148 | 98.7 | 258 | 274 | 94.2 |
| FRANKLIN | 632 | 694 | 91.1 | 364 | 409 | 89.0 | 214 | 226 | 94.7 |
| HARNETT | 1,200 | 1,303 | 92.1 | 881 | 933 | 94.4 | 185 | 224 | 82.6 |
| ROBESON | 691 | 751 | 92.0 | 294 | 306 | 96.1 | 180 | 213 | 84.5 |
| CRAVEN | 834 | 923 | 90.4 | 598 | 652 | 91.7 | 178 | 206 | 86.4 |
| COLUMBUS | 364 | 376 | 96.8 | 140 | 141 | 99.3 | 194 | 203 | 95.6 |
| WAYNE | 519 | 601 | 86.4 | 320 | 344 | 93.0 | 141 | 190 | 74.2 |
| GASTON | 1,347 | 1,413 | 95.3 | 1,077 | 1,120 | 96.2 | 164 | 181 | 90.6 |
| ROWAN | 1,245 | 1,302 | 95.6 | 1,022 | 1,047 | 97.6 | 148 | 172 | 86.0 |
| NEW HANOVER | 1,934 | 2,163 | 89.4 | 1,654 | 1,836 | 90.1 | 136 | 169 | 80.5 |
| GREENE | 200 | 217 | 92.2 | 42 | 43 | 97.7 | 152 | 168 | 90.5 |
| LENOIR | 295 | 313 | 94.2 | 146 | 151 | 96.7 | 144 | 157 | 91.7 |
| HALIFAX | 208 | 276 | 75.4 | 87 | 107 | 81.3 | 106 | 149 | 71.1 |
| MOORE | 1,420 | 1,593 | 89.1 | 1,209 | 1,318 | 91.7 | 105 | 149 | 70.5 |
| ALAMANCE | 1,252 | 1,256 | 99.7 | 1,033 | 1,036 | 99.7 | 141 | 141 | 100.0 |
| IREDELL | 2,418 | 2,418 | 100.0 | 2,084 | 2,084 | 100.0 | 139 | 139 | 100.0 |
| BUNCOMBE | 3,074 | 3,338 | 92.1 | 2,627 | 2,833 | 92.7 | 108 | 134 | 80.6 |
| DAVIDSON | 1,435 | 1,686 | 85.1 | 1,269 | 1,473 | 86.2 | 94 | 128 | 73.4 |
| HOKE | 272 | 315 | 86.3 | 119 | 129 | 92.2 | 99 | 123 | 80.5 |
| WILSON | 416 | 474 | 87.8 | 298 | 316 | 94.3 | 86 | 116 | 74.1 |
| RICHMOND | 289 | 324 | 89.2 | 182 | 192 | 94.8 | 92 | 114 | 80.7 |
| LINCOLN | 584 | 643 | 90.8 | 438 | 480 | 91.3 | 104 | 114 | 91.2 |
| VANCE | 185 | 221 | 83.7 | 97 | 102 | 95.1 | 81 | 110 | 73.6 |
| GRANVILLE | 250 | 326 | 76.7 | 157 | 192 | 81.8 | 68 | 104 | 65.4 |
| ORANGE | 2,293 | 2,312 | 99.2 | 1,668 | 1,680 | 99.3 | 98 | 101 | 97.0 |
| LEE | 367 | 396 | 92.7 | 259 | 271 | 95.6 | 82 | 98 | 83.7 |
| BEAUFORT | 250 | 299 | 83.6 | 167 | 184 | 90.8 | 68 | 97 | 70.1 |
| ONSLOW | 617 | 626 | 98.6 | 443 | 446 | 99.3 | 92 | 97 | 94.8 |
| NORTHAMPTON | 109 | 146 | 74.7 | 43 | 52 | 82.7 | 62 | 89 | 69.7 |
| HERTFORD | 107 | 123 | 87.0 | 26 | 27 | 96.3 | 74 | 88 | 84.1 |
| ROCKINGHAM | 408 | 476 | 85.7 | 319 | 354 | 90.1 | 54 | 86 | 62.8 |
| EDGECOMBE | 127 | 142 | 89.4 | 55 | 58 | 94.8 | 69 | 80 | 86.3 |
| CLEVELAND | 513 | 541 | 94.8 | 423 | 435 | 97.2 | 66 | 80 | 82.5 |
| SAMPSON | 195 | 236 | 82.6 | 122 | 136 | 89.7 | 58 | 80 | 72.5 |
| SCOTLAND | 252 | 257 | 98.1 | 132 | 134 | 98.5 | 74 | 76 | 97.4 |
| CHATHAM | 1,087 | 1,177 | 92.4 | 899 | 965 | 93.2 | 59 | 75 | 78.7 |
| ANSON | 163 | 170 | 95.9 | 64 | 66 | 97.0 | 72 | 74 | 97.3 |
| BRUNSWICK | 989 | 1,089 | 90.8 | 850 | 927 | 91.7 | 48 | 66 | 72.7 |
| PASQUOTANK | 198 | 244 | 81.1 | 138 | 165 | 83.6 | 46 | 63 | 73.0 |
| BERTIE | 93 | 105 | 88.6 | 40 | 42 | 95.2 | 50 | 60 | 83.3 |
| WARREN | 136 | 142 | 95.8 | 71 | 74 | 95.9 | 58 | 60 | 96.7 |
| DUPLIN | 138 | 151 | 91.4 | 80 | 87 | 92.0 | 51 | 57 | 89.5 |
| CATAWBA | 831 | 888 | 93.6 | 706 | 751 | 94.0 | 47 | 54 | 87.0 |
| PAMLICO | 120 | 122 | 98.4 | 67 | 67 | 100.0 | 49 | 51 | 96.1 |
| STANLY | 444 | 507 | 87.6 | 383 | 424 | 90.3 | 34 | 51 | 66.7 |
| PERSON | 156 | 181 | 86.2 | 108 | 123 | 87.8 | 40 | 48 | 83.3 |
| WASHINGTON | 79 | 83 | 95.2 | 37 | 38 | 97.4 | 42 | 45 | 93.3 |
| PENDER | 325 | 334 | 97.3 | 258 | 266 | 97.0 | 44 | 45 | 97.8 |
| MARTIN | 115 | 124 | 92.7 | 73 | 75 | 97.3 | 38 | 45 | 84.4 |
| GATES | 68 | 76 | 89.5 | 31 | 31 | 100.0 | 35 | 42 | 83.3 |
| BURKE | 467 | 494 | 94.5 | 412 | 427 | 96.5 | 28 | 36 | 77.8 |
| CASWELL | 145 | 149 | 97.3 | 97 | 98 | 99.0 | 31 | 34 | 91.2 |
| HENDERSON | 1,852 | 1,877 | 98.7 | 1,702 | 1,723 | 98.8 | 31 | 32 | 96.9 |
| DAVIE | 414 | 428 | 96.7 | 353 | 361 | 97.8 | 30 | 31 | 96.8 |
| MONTGOMERY | 182 | 193 | 94.3 | 139 | 147 | 94.6 | 30 | 31 | 96.8 |
| RANDOLPH | 686 | 703 | 97.6 | 618 | 629 | 98.3 | 26 | 28 | 92.9 |
| PERQUIMANS | 77 | 77 | 100.0 | 50 | 50 | 100.0 | 26 | 26 | 100.0 |
| CALDWELL | 361 | 396 | 91.2 | 323 | 355 | 91.0 | 21 | 24 | 87.5 |
| RUTHERFORD | 393 | 433 | 90.8 | 344 | 376 | 91.5 | 15 | 22 | 68.2 |
| CHOWAN | 79 | 84 | 94.0 | 54 | 56 | 96.4 | 18 | 21 | 85.7 |
| CAMDEN | 81 | 85 | 95.3 | 57 | 60 | 95.0 | 17 | 18 | 94.4 |
| WILKES | 441 | 447 | 98.7 | 411 | 417 | 98.6 | 15 | 15 | 100.0 |
| JONES | 49 | 49 | 100.0 | 30 | 30 | 100.0 | 15 | 15 | 100.0 |
| YADKIN | 224 | 238 | 94.1 | 197 | 206 | 95.6 | 10 | 15 | 66.7 |
| ALEXANDER | 195 | 203 | 96.1 | 169 | 176 | 96.0 | 13 | 14 | 92.9 |
| SURRY | 626 | 695 | 90.1 | 590 | 654 | 90.2 | 11 | 13 | 84.6 |
| CARTERET | 478 | 491 | 97.4 | 435 | 445 | 97.8 | 11 | 12 | 91.7 |
| WATAUGA | 673 | 693 | 97.1 | 638 | 655 | 97.4 | 10 | 12 | 83.3 |
| TRANSYLVANIA | 461 | 464 | 99.4 | 422 | 425 | 99.3 | 11 | 11 | 100.0 |
| STOKES | 255 | 258 | 98.8 | 237 | 240 | 98.8 | 9 | 9 | 100.0 |
| DARE | 420 | 464 | 90.5 | 397 | 433 | 91.7 | 5 | 9 | 55.6 |
| POLK | 320 | 331 | 96.7 | 306 | 315 | 97.1 | 7 | 9 | 77.8 |
| HYDE | 45 | 49 | 91.8 | 38 | 40 | 95.0 | 6 | 8 | 75.0 |
| CURRITUCK | 201 | 212 | 94.8 | 178 | 188 | 94.7 | 7 | 7 | 100.0 |
| MACON | 461 | 478 | 96.4 | 444 | 458 | 96.9 | 5 | 6 | 83.3 |
| TYRRELL | 13 | 16 | 81.3 | 11 | 11 | 100.0 | 2 | 5 | 40.0 |
| MCDOWELL | 198 | 214 | 92.5 | 186 | 202 | 92.1 | 3 | 3 | 100.0 |
| CHEROKEE | 263 | 263 | 100.0 | 248 | 248 | 100.0 | 2 | 2 | 100.0 |
| HAYWOOD | 512 | 542 | 94.5 | 489 | 519 | 94.2 | 2 | 2 | 100.0 |
| YANCEY | 531 | 551 | 96.4 | 505 | 525 | 96.2 | 1 | 1 | 100.0 |
| SWAIN | 96 | 98 | 98.0 | 88 | 90 | 97.8 | 1 | 1 | 100.0 |
| CLAY | 102 | 109 | 93.6 | 96 | 102 | 94.1 | NULL | NULL | NULL |
| MADISON | 155 | 174 | 89.1 | 142 | 161 | 88.2 | NULL | NULL | NULL |
| ASHE | 313 | 320 | 97.8 | 308 | 314 | 98.1 | NULL | NULL | NULL |
| MITCHELL | 158 | 162 | 97.5 | 150 | 154 | 97.4 | NULL | NULL | NULL |
| ALLEGHANY | 93 | 104 | 89.4 | 92 | 102 | 90.2 | NULL | NULL | NULL |
| AVERY | 136 | 141 | 96.5 | 128 | 132 | 97.0 | NULL | NULL | NULL |
| GRAHAM | 96 | 96 | 100.0 | 94 | 94 | 100.0 | NULL | NULL | NULL |
| JACKSON | 277 | 298 | 93.0 | 264 | 281 | 94.0 | NULL | NULL | NULL |