RALEIGH, N.C. — In-person early voting in North Carolina ends Saturday, but the number of people who voted by this method has already surpassed the total from four years ago, according to the State Board of Elections.

For the fall 2020 election, a record 3.63 million people voted during the 17-day early voting period at hundreds of sites across all 100 counties. This year, the state surpassed that total as of Thursday evening, with 3.71 million people voting early in person as of Friday, said the board’s executive director, Karen Brinson Bell.

If traditional absentee, military and foreign voter ballots are included through Thursday, the number rises to nearly 3.9 million ballots, or more than 49% of the 7.83 million of the state’s registered voters. Overall turnout in the November 2020 election was 75.2%.

In-person early voting, which ends Saturday at 3 p.m., has become increasingly popular in this presidential battleground state over several election cycles. People can simultaneously register to vote and vote at early voting sites.

This year’s high anticipated turnout is due in part to a push by Republicans across the state and country to encourage people to vote early. Their message stands in stark contrast to the 2020 election, when former President Donald Trump — without any evidence to support the claim — said mail-in voting was rife with fraud.

Although the number of registered Democratic voters statewide is 109,000 more than the number of registered Republican voters, more than 50,000 more registered Republican Party voters than Democrats cast early or absentee ballots until through Thursday, according to board data.

In-person early voting was also brisk in western counties damaged by historic flooding from Hurricane Helen in late September.

All but four of the 80 early voting sites originally planned across the 25 counties were open on the first day, October 17. And a state law passed last week required election boards in Henderson and McDowell counties to open more early voting sites this week. .

“Voter turnout in Helene’s 25 disaster-affected counties continues to exceed that of the entire state,” Brinson Bell told reporters. “We are very proud to say this and extremely proud of the resilient and strong people of Western North Carolina.”

In addition to the president, North Carolina residents next week will elect a new governor, attorney general and several other statewide offices, as well as members of the House of Representatives and General Assembly of the state.