When will we know? · North Carolina
When will we know North Carolina’s 2026 election results?
In 2024, about 38% of North Carolina’s vote was counted by 9 PM ET, 87% by 11 PM and 96% by 1 AM.
It passed 95% by 1 AM ET.
Cumberland came in last (past 90% by 2 AM ET). Union came in first.
Polls in North Carolina close at 7:30 PM ET.
- These are 2024 counts. 2024 was a presidential year, and 2026 timing can differ. Nothing on this page predicts when any 2026 race will be known.
- Percentages are of each unit’s final 2024 count, not of the votes cast in 2026. A county’s share is of that county’s own final count.
- This page shows no results and no live data. Call the Map does not run an election-night results page.
The count by the hour, election night 2024
The biggest counties, and when each was in
| County | Of the state’s vote | By 9 PM | By 11 PM | By 1 AM | Past 90% by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wake | 11% | 78% | 84% | 99% | midnight |
| Mecklenburg | 10% | 6% | 92% | 98% | 11 PM |
| Guilford | 5% | none | 81% | 99% | 1 AM |
| Forsyth | 4% | 23% | 90% | 99% | midnight |
| Durham | 3% | 5% | 99% | 99% | 11 PM |
| Buncombe | 3% | 59% | 99% | 99% | 10 PM |
| Cumberland | 2% | none | 23% | 23% | 2 AM |
| Union | 2% | 91% | 99% | 99% | 9 PM |
Each percentage is of that county’s own final count, not of the state’s. “none” means the feed showed no votes yet; “not measured” means the feed did not carry the county’s count at that time, which is not the same as zero. A time after 2:37 AM is the first archived copy at that level; the archive has no copy between 2:37 AM and 2:37 PM on Nov. 6, so the count may have passed it earlier.
What comes late, and why
Fast. Counties may tabulate mail ballots before polls close, so first reports are mail then early in-person votes that lean Democratic; about 99% of the 2020 vote was reported by midnight ET. In 2022 Beasley's early ~20-point lead disappeared within about 90 minutes; MIT: 95% of the 2024 vote in 6 hours. Since 2024 the state accepts no late-arriving mail ballots except overseas ballots (Protect Democracy).
Sources: AP via PBS NewsHour: What to expect in North Carolina on Election Day; AP (Askarinam) via NBC4 Washington: Want to follow election results like a pro? Here's what to watch in key states; MIT Election Data + Science Lab: How long did it take to count the vote in 2024? (Baltz); Protect Democracy: The 2024 Vote Count, What to Expect. These describe the 2020, 2022 and 2024 elections and the rules in force when they were read; they are not a statement about 2026.
The 2026 races here
- House NC-01Davis (D) vs. Buckhout (R)
- House NC-11Ager (D) vs. Balkcom (R)
See every race in North Carolina, print the Election Night Guide to follow the count, or make your calls in the prediction game.
Sources and method
- Counts
- The New York Times presidential county results feed (Associated Press data), President only, as the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine kept it. Copies used: 7:59 PM ET Nov. 5 to 2:37 AM ET Nov. 6. The archive has no capture of this feed between 2:37 AM and 2:37 PM ET on Nov 6 2024; a state still counting at 2:37 AM is not measured again until the afternoon (and only the 16 states with an 'after' point carry later captures).
- Final count
- NYT total_expected_vote per unit in the last archived capture of Nov 8 2024 (statewide 5,687,653), or the largest count seen where that was lower. It is the feed’s last archived value, not a certified canvass.
The 8 archived copies behind this page
- 8 PM · 4% of the state’s final count in · taken 19:59 ET 11/05
- 9 PM · 38% of the state’s final count in · taken 21:00 ET 11/05
- 10 PM · 55% of the state’s final count in · taken 22:00 ET 11/05
- 11 PM · 87% of the state’s final count in · taken 22:59 ET 11/05
- midnight · 91% of the state’s final count in · taken 23:51 ET 11/05
- 1 AM · 96% of the state’s final count in · taken 01:00 ET 11/06
- 2 AM · 98% of the state’s final count in · taken 01:57 ET 11/06
- 2:37 AM · 99% of the state’s final count in · taken 02:37 ET 11/06