Western Carolina University’s new early voting site at the Health and Human Sciences Building has the second highest percentage increase in voter turnout of any early voting site in North Carolina during the 2026 midterm election, according to a new analysis by political science professor Chris Cooper.
The site recorded 2,579 voters during the early voting period, a 135% increase from the 1,097 voters who used the University Center site during the 2022 midterm election. According to Cooper this is “the second largest percent increase of any site in the state of North Carolina.”
According to the State Board of Elections, there were 2,724,424 votes in person and 92,396 absentee ballots casted at the end of the early voting period.
In Jackson County, 11,032 people voted in person and 299 mail in-ballots have arrived.
Cooper published the updated voting numbers Nov. 1 in his Anatomy of a Purple State Substack newsletter.
Same day registrations accounted for about 13% of ballots cast at HHS with 346 new voters, making it the third-highest percentage among early voting sites statewide.
In person early voting rose about 35% statewide and 22% in Jackson County compared to 2022.
Out of the county’s five early voting sites, only the Cullowhee Recreation Center saw a decline in turnout, with a 20% decrease.
Although the HHS site has had more voters overall, its voters were older on average than those who used the UC site in 2022. The average age of voters at HHS was about 39, compared to about 32 at the UC.
However, the number of voters ages 22 and younger increased by about 73%, from 576 in 2022 to 999 in 2026. Younger voters made up about 39% of HHS voters, compared to 53% at the UC.
Cooper’s analysis also found that the HHS site attracted voters who had previously used other voting locations.
Out of the 2,579 people who voted early at HHS in 2026, 523 had voted at the Cullowhee Recreation Center during the 2024 election. In comparison, 88 people who voted at the UC in 2024 used the recreation center in 2026.
The analysis suggest the new location is attracting voters who previously used the recreation center, while also serving people without a recorded voting history in 2024. About 26% of HHS voters (665 people) did not have a record of voting in that year’s election.
Despite the change in location, the partisan makeup of voters remained similar to that of the UC site in 2022.
Democrats accounted for 37% of HHS voters, compared to 35% at the UC.
Republicans made up about 10% of voters in both elections. Unaffiliated voters accounted for approximately 53% at HHS and 54% at the UC.
On Oct. 31, the final day of early voting, 200 people voted at HHS between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Poll workers said they had not seen that level of turnout on the final day at the UC, particularly the number of new voter registrations. Some voters who previously used the Cullowhee Recreation Center also said they preferred the HHS site because it was better and larger.
