Wake County early-voting surge nears 50,000 as Young Center logs 7,400

Herbert C. Young Community Center in Cary recorded nearly 7,400 early ballots through Thursday, making it one of the busiest polling locations in the state as statewide early voting topped 500,000 through Thursday and Wake County officials said the county was expected to exceed 50,000 ballots by the end of Friday. Election officials noted Feb. 27 was the final full weekday of early voting; Wake County’s 12 early voting sites will be open Saturday, Feb. 28 from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m., and the Primary Election Day is March 3, 2026.

Wake’s surge came late in the week: county tallies show Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of the last week were the three highest early-voting days of the cycle. Dr. Chris Cooper, political science professor at Western Carolina University, said, “I'm very surprised. I expected we'd see healthy turnout, robust turnout. But this is beyond any expectations I had,” and his analysis found early voting through Thursday was about 24% higher than the same point in the 2022 midterm primaries.

Voters at Herbert C. Young described a familiarity with high-turnout energy and issue-driven motivation. Kevan Cooper, who cast his ballot at Herbert C. Young Community Center in Cary, said, “I felt the same kind of energy in the presidential election in 2024,” and added, “I think it's issues that everybody is concerned about. It's health care, it's the economy, it's the environment.” Amy Womble, who also voted early, said, “I want to vote for people who are going to support public education and putting tax dollars into our public schools. That's one of my top issues. (I) also (want) people that are going to keep Wake a strong place and protect us from some of the federal overreach.”

Election administration changes and resources were visible across the county as officials worked to handle demand. The State Auditor's Office reported a 6% increase in early voting sites compared to the 2022 primary, and Wake is one of 17 counties with more locations this cycle. Wake County has 12 early voting locations and maintains voter registration and voting records for more than 845,000 voters. Same-day registration is available at all early voting sites through Saturday for eligible voters who bring acceptable proof of current residence and complete a registration form; same-day registration is not available on Election Day. Voters can check an interactive map and live wait times at WakeVotesEarly.com or call the Wake County Board of Elections at 919-404-4040. Wake County Public Health’s new address is 200 Swinburne St., Raleigh, NC 27610.

A Wake County Power BI snapshot labeled “unofficial” and last refreshed 11/1/2025 showed cumulative site totals including John M. Brown Community Center at 8,359 and Herbert C. Young Community Center at 7,783, with “Total Early Voting Ballots Cast 20,054” and a party breakdown of UNA 8,642, DEM 8,119 and REP 3,256; the visualization is dated and the file states all numbers are preliminary and unofficial. News tallies from the final early-voting week in late February cited the “nearly 7,400” figure at Herbert C. Young as of Thursday.

WUNC’s historical context notes that more than 4 million North Carolinians voted early in 2024, and analysts say the late-week surge this cycle indicates unusually strong early participation heading into the March 3 primary. Early voting in Wake ends Saturday, Feb. 28 at 3 p.m.; voters who opt to wait for Election Day must go to their assigned precinct on March 3.