The opening curtain of early voting on Thursday drew six times the turnout of 2004 in Charlotte, when North Carolina voters last held primaries to help elect a president.
The catalyst: the close-and-bitter Democratic presidential race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, with North Carolina looming as the possible showdown state. The May 6 ballot also offers a full slate of state contests, from governor on down.
"These are really good numbers," said Charlotte-Mecklenburg Elections Director Michael Dickerson, "and everything we do early means that you don't have to worry about it on election day."
Read the full story at Charlotte.com.