RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — In a Friday meeting, the North Carolina State Board of Elections laid out the latest record-breaking voting numbers seen across the state. 2024 NC early voting turnout surpasses 2020 As of Oct. 31, nearly half (49%) of voters registered in the state had cast their ballot during the in-person early voting period. Officials believe with only two more days in the early voting period, N.C. will easily surpass the 50 percent threshold. With 3,656,493 early voting ballots cast in NC through end-of-day Thursday, the state had surpassed the grand total of early voting ballots in 2020 with two days of early voting remaining. North Carolina has been a major swing state in the path to the White House for presidential candidates Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump and it will stay that way through the close of polling places on Election Day. Dozens wait in line at the W.E. Hunt Recreation Center in Holly Springs, N.C. on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (Ashley Anderson/CBS 17) On Nov. 5, there will be 2,600 polling locations open across the state, the board said. All of the voting equipment has been tested, officials added, and all locations will have bi-partisan staffing. Western NC showing out to vote post-Helene Also, voters in the hardest-hit counties from Hurricane Helene are anything but slow to the polls. The board reported that early voting in the 25 counties of western N.C. declared disaster areas after the devastation of Helene have outpaced the rest of the state. There are just seven areas where temporary voting locations are needed and being operated—four in Yancey County, and one in each Buncombe, Burke and Haywood counties. What to expect in Election Day results timing Soon after the close of polls in N.C. at 7:30 p.m., election officials said the results from any absentee ballots collected before Election Day will be known. These ballots are scheduled to be counted Tuesday afternoon. The final count from early in-person voting will be a bit slower this year because of a new law that states they cannot be counted until after polls have closed. NCSBE Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell said she expects the bulk of results to be posted between 9:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. In the process of making these counts, tabulators are physically transported to county boards of election and in some cases, this can be up to an hour drive, officials said Friday. What if races are too close to call? Elections officials process mail-in ballots in Phoenix, AZ prior to the first day of tabulation in Maricopa County on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt York) If any races qualify as extremely tight, we may not know the result of that race until Nov. 15, election officials said Friday. If we see a delay like this, it will be from the numbers coming down to the wire for these three types of ballots: Absentee ballots collected on Election Day Overseas military ballots received after Election Day but postmarked by Nov. 5th Provisional ballots These are not counted until county canvassing, which takes place Nov.15. The number of provisional ballots will be higher this year because of the new voter ID law, officials said. County election boards will post how many uncounted ballots they have received, which will help the local and state boards crunch the numbers.  The NC State Board of Elections has more information on North Carolina's vote counting and reporting process here.