In the first seven days of early voting, the new voting site at Western Carolina University’s Health and Human Sciences Building has seen a 168% increase in turnout compared with the last midterm election in 2022.
According to the State Board of Elections, there are 1,484,828 votes in person and 59,845 absentee ballots casted as of Oct. 24.
In Jackson County, 6,082 people voted within the first seven days of early voting in person and 212 mail in-ballots have arrived.
According to WCU political science professor Chris Cooper’s Oct. 24 update to his Anatomy of a Purple State Substack, 1,200 people voted at the HHS site, compared with 448 at the University Center during the same period in 2022.
The increase continued after students returned from fall break.
“The 2026 increase therefore is clear both during and after Fall Break,” Cooper wrote. “But we don’t know whether that higher pace will continue, or whether this early pop is simply the same folks who always early vote just getting out earlier.”
Out of the five early voting sites in Jackson County, only the Cullowhee Recreation Center has seen a decrease in turnout.
The other four sites have seen increases, with the largest jump at the new HHS site on WCU’s campus.
Although more young people are voting at the WCU site, they make up a smaller percentage of voters than they did in 2022.
About 29% of voters at HHS are 22 or younger, while the University Center had 43% in 2022. However, the number of young voters has increased about 82% overall.
The average age of voters at HHS is around 45 years old, compared with around 35 at the University Center during the first seven days of early voting in 2022.
“More young people are using the site, but the use among older people has grown even more,” Cooper wrote.
The HHS site has also recorded 83 same-day registrations, compared with 74 at the University Center during the same period in 2022. Cooper said that the number may be lower than the actual total because same-day registrations take longer to process.
Although turnout has increased, Cooper said it is still too early to know if the trend will continue.
