Buncombe records 6,044 early votes in four days; South Buncombe, Weaverville busiest

Buncombe County election officials reported 6,044 in-person ballots cast during the first four reporting days of early voting for North Carolina’s March 3, 2026 primary, WLOS reported. More than 1,200 people cast ballots on the first day, and county election staff identified the South Buncombe Library Branch and the Weaverville Community Center as the busiest sites so far, WLOS said. Early voting in Buncombe runs through Saturday, Feb. 28.

Dr. Chris Cooper, a political science professor at Western Carolina University, said the county snapshot so far is weighted toward Democrats. Cooper told WLOS, “What that means is when we see the votes come in, it looks like this blue mirage, a lot of people will call it, right. When we release the early voting data, people say, ‘hey, looks like the Democrats are up,’ and over the course of the night, as Election Day votes come in, then things move a little bit more to the right.” Cooper also noted that early turnout numbers are up for Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated voters compared with the 2022 midterm primary, according to WLOS reporting.

The county’s 6,044 figure covers only in-person early ballots reported in the first four reporting days; WLOS and Buncombe officials framed it as an early snapshot as the county moves toward the Feb. 28 deadline. National outlets warn caution in reading early-party splits: the Associated Press reported that early-vote registration data reflects party registration, not candidate choice, and that “the early electorate can change from day to day as more people vote early.”

National reporting shows different patterns in other places. The Associated Press said Republicans are increasing in-person early voting in some states, noting that nearly 19 million early ballots had been cast nationally and that in Nevada “about 6,000 more Republicans than Democrats had actually cast early ballots this year as of Tuesday,” AP research found. Courthouse News Service reported former President Donald Trump saying on Dan Bongino’s podcast, “I am telling everyone to vote early,” a line that reflects a broader GOP push to return voters to early voting.

State and county comparisons underscore variability in short-term tallies. VoteHub, as shared on X and reported by MyCanyonLake, put first-week totals at 544,894 Democratic primary ballots and 440,966 Republican primary ballots. In Texas, Comal County posted 5,831 ballots cast in the first three days of its early voting window - 3,993 Republicans and 1,838 Democrats for Feb. 17–19 - though the county’s Elections Office and the Texas Secretary of State site showed differing short-term totals and noted upload and verification timing can produce short-term discrepancies.

Buncombe’s 6,044 early in-person ballots are a concrete local count in a national season of unusually high early turnout; experts and national reporting both caution that the early picture can shift as Election Day and mail ballots are added before final tallies are certified.