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November 7, 2016
MEDIA ADVISORY:

PRESS CONFERENCE—MONDAY NOV. 7th 12:15PM—NCGOP HEADQUARTERS—RALEIGH

NCGOP Sees Encouraging Early Voting, Obama/Clinton Coalition Tired, Fail to Resonate in North Carolina

RALEIGH, NC — NCGOP leaders will discuss final Get Out The Vote efforts and encouraging Republican gains in final Early Voting numbers when compared to 2012. Republicans historically vote in far greater numbers on Election Day itself, these great strides in Early Voting when compared to 2012 show evidence of underestimated statewide ground game and deep volunteer base.


WHO: NCGOP Leaders

WHAT: Press Conference

WHEN: TOMORROW, Monday, November 7, 2016 at 12:15 PM

WHERE: NCGOP Headquarters, 1506 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, NC



The other factor which shows drastic change from 2012 is the significant decrease in Democrat Party performance during Early Voting. This may finally prove the myth pushed by many mainstream media outlets of the superior Clinton get out the vote operation, as measured by the number of Clinton-specific offices in comparison to Trump-specific offices. The vaulted Clinton ground game has been buried in North Carolina by the Republican effort, thus far.

"While I am pleased so far, we must have a strong Election Day turnout to win on Tuesday," said Chairman Robin Hayes. "But I'm cautiously optimistic and our statewide team will continue the full court press until the minute polls close," Chairman Hayes concluded.



The Breakdown

With a total of 3,095,829 ballots cast, Early Voting finished up with an increase of 373,991 ballots or 14.6% from 2012.

In comparing to 2012, the gap between Republicans and Democrats has shrunk by 144,637.

Republican ballots cast (AB Returns + Early Votes) are currently up 122,349, while Democrat ballots cast are down by 22,288.

Democrats are down 1.5% from 2012 and Republicans are up by 20.2%.

Unaffiliated voters are also up by a large margin (43.9%).

Republicans are at or above 2012 Early Voting levels in all counties except Halifax (-49 or -3.1%).

Several strong Republican counties have seen a large growth in the Republican Early Voting numbers. For example, Randolph County is +7,380 and Union County is +7,535.

In Wake County, Republicans are +6,369. In Mecklenburg County, Republicans are +7,405.

Specifically with Mecklenburg County, Republicans saw an increase of 12.4% over 2012 and Democrats saw an increase of 0.6%.

Democrats, on the other hand, are seeing decreased number in Early Voting in 58 out of 100 counties when compared to their performance in 2012.

“The media myth of 'Clinton's superior Get Out The Vote' operation has not panned out when compared to 2012,” said Chairman Robin Hayes. “I am encouraged by the excitement and work ethic of our volunteers and the numbers don't lie—the Republican ground game is showing that motivated statewide volunteers and extensive ground game are better indicators of electoral success than the number of candidate-specific offices one has. Further, the connected weaknesses of Hillary Clinton, Deborah Ross, and Roy Cooper when combined with the clear Democrat voter apathy, shows the once dynamic Obama Coalition crumbling and tired.” Chairman Hayes continued.


North Carolina Obama Coalition Crumbling

African American Early Voting is down 8.5% from this time in 2012.

Caucasian voters early voting is up 22.5% from this time in 2012.

As a share of Early Voters, African Americans are down 6.0%, (2012: 28.9%, 2016: 22.9%) and Caucasians are up 4.2%, (2012: 65.8%, 2016: 70.0%).


Young Voters Weak on Clinton

Age <36 are up 50,302, however, vote share decreased from 21.4% to 20.4%.
Age >65 are up 155,440, with vote share increasing from 22.1% to 24.6%.

 
Information Provided by the North Carolina State Board of Elections

The North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) has proved the increased opportunity for North Carolinians to vote early. North Carolina has seen record early voting turnout in part due to additional Early Voting hours and locations.

NCSBE's recent press release can be viewed HERE.

The surge in Republican Early Voting numbers is due to the motivated efforts by NCGOP volunteers and RNC partners who have improved Republican voter registration since 2012. In the last four years, from October 2012 to October 2016, Republicans have a net increase to Democrats in voter registration by 140,000.