North Carolina early voting through the next to last day. Democratic votes are 124% of 2010 vs 103% for Republicans.
Reverend Barber's Moral Monday Movement has fired up the Democratic base in North Carolina and registered a new wave of black voters who have been motivated to vote by new laws passed by NC Republicans to keep them from voting. The early voting numbers in North Carolina have exceeded the wildest expectations of NC Dems.
Democratic votes, as of yesterday, the next to last day of voting, were 124% of 2010 compared to 103% for Republicans. This is a huge turnaround from the disappointment of 2010. Moreover the jump in Democratic votes is from voters who didn't vote in 2010, not the early turn out of Dems who voted on election day in 2010.
Twenty four percent of the early black voters did not vote in 2010.
The big jump in Democratic early voting this year was driven by a big jump in off year black voter turn out. 24% of black early voters did not vote in 2010.
My wife, who is involved with the Butler (Dem) for Sheriff campaign in Sampson county, reports that turn out from Democratic precincts there has far exceeded the expectations of the Democrats running for office in Sampson county. African Americans, the Democratic base in Sampson county, have apparently voted early in record numbers for an off year election. Sampson county candidates celebrated the early voting success at breakfast this morning and prepared for the final push to get out the vote on Tuesday. The great early turnout will lessen the burden on Democratic canvassers and callers on Tuesday.
Please read Prof. Michael Bitzer's blog for all the encouraging details. His analysis is meticulous, accurate and professional. Democratic votes are crushing Republican votes 48.5% to 31.2% with over one million votes accepted.
"North Carolina has reached over a million accepted ballots (or votes) cast before Election Day, through the combination of mail-in and in-person early voting. "
Turn out for independents, who lean younger than average, is also way up. There is deep anger among women and minorities at the extreme anti-woman and anti-minority laws passed by the Republican state legislature, led by Senate candidate Thom Tillis. 55% of early voters were women. This is great news for Kay Hagan and devastating news for Thom Tillis.
I strongly believe that the Moral Monday protests, led by Reverend Barber, empowered women and minority voters to turn out this year. His focus on social justice exposed the immorality and bigotry in the extreme legislation passed by the Republican legislature. The Moral Monday movement got the media to focus on the damage the extremist Republican legislation was doing to North Carolina. Before 2010 North Carolina Republicans had a reputation of being moderate. The Moral Monday Movement exposed how extreme the Republican party is today and mobilized decent people to rise up against it. Reverend Barber has built a model for effectively fighting Republican extremism in red and purple states. The key to his effectiveness can be seen today in the high percentage of new early, women, black and Democratic voters. Thank you, Reverend Barber.