(The Center Square) – Just over six weeks from the voter registration deadline for the 2026 midterms, and with ballots going to voters in the mail a week from Friday, North Carolina’s registration pattern remains overwhelmingly independent of any party affiliation.

In the weekly seven-day update released Saturday by the State Board of Elections, the independent bloc increased a net 4,438 registrations – or 79.4% of the 5,592 overall. Democrats gained 772 and Republicans 379.

Since the primary on March 3, the total registrations have increased 123,981 with top shares of 113,017 to those unaffiliated, 5,920 to Republicans and 4,879 to Democrats.

Oct. 9 is the registration deadline. Ballots requested to be mailed – any North Carolina voter can make the request – will go out on Sept. 4.

Total registrations number 7,832,241. The shares are 40% unaffiliated (3,134,227), 29.7% Republicans (2,328,163) and 29.6% Democrats (29.6%). The Libertarian Party has 46,527 and the Green Party 4,797.

The Center Square analyzes the trend as part of its mission for reporting taxpayers' views, of government accountability, and the intersection at the ballot box that will shape policy impacting Americans across multiple areas.

Voter roll maintenance, standard and as required by law, and a trend away from parties since Election Day 2024 has continued to swell the independents and weaken the major parties regarding registrations.

North Carolinians will choose a U.S. senator, all 14 members of the U.S. House, and all 170 members of the General Assembly. One state Supreme Court seat and a number of judges, district attorneys, and county level offices are on the state's second-longest ballot of the four-year cycles.

For context in the change of landscape, at what is generally considered a landmark Election Day in 2008, the state’s total registrations were 6,264,733. Those unaffiliated numbered just under 1.4 million (22.2%) while Democrats’ 2,866,669 had 45.8% share and Republicans’ 2,002,416 was a 32% share. Barack Obama became the first Democrat since Jimmy Carter in 1976 to carry the state, by a mere 14,177 votes of more than 4.3 million cast, on the way to winning the White House.

The state’s lone U.S. Senate seat was won by Democrat Kay Hagan, and the 13 U.S. House seats were divvied up eight Democrats and five Republicans.

The Council of State went 8-2 to Democrats. Incumbent Republicans’ Steve Troxler and Cherie Berry remained commissioners of agriculture and labor, respectively. And the General Assembly was 30-20 Democrats in the Senate and 68-52 Democrats in the House of Representatives.

Today, Republicans have won the state in the presidential race 13 of the last 15 contests (1968-present), five consecutive U.S. Senate races (2010-present), and two years ago captured 10 of 14 seats for the U.S. House.

The Council of State is a 5-5 split. On Election Day 2024, the General Assembly majorities were 30-20 Republicans in the Senate and 71-49 Republicans in the House of Representatives.