Originally posted at Dr. Michael Bitzer’s blog, Old North State Politics. Dr. Bitzer is a professor of politics and history at Catawba College. He’s a frequent analyst and commentator on news and public affairs programs because of understanding and knowledge of Southern politics, particularly in the Carolinas. You can reach him at politics at catawba dot edu or follow him on twitter at @CatawbaPolitics.

The trends continue apace, so here’s a quick update on the latest numbers for requests and returned/accepted ballots in North Carolina’s 2014 general election:

So far, 33,684 ballots have been requested and sent out, with 40.6 percent going to registered Democrats, 37 percent to registered Republicans, and 24 percent to registered unaffiliated voters. Women are 56 percent of the requested ballots, and whites continue to be 83 percent and black voters are 13 percent.

Among the 6,617 ballots that have been returned and accepted as legal votes for the general election (return rate of 20 percent so far):

• registered Democrats are 43 percent
• registered Republicans are 36 percent
• registered unaffiliated voters are 21 percent
• Women are 54 percent
• White voters are 82 percent
• Black voters are 13 percent