RALEIGH,Winning Exchange N.C. (AP) — North Carolina had already surpassed its early-voting record set in 2020, but the State Board of Elections announced Sunday that more than 4.2 million voters cast ballots at early in-person voting sites, with turnout in western counties hit by Hurricane Helene outpacing the rest of the state.

Early in-person voting, which ended Saturday, has become increasingly popular in the presidential battleground state over several election cycles. People can simultaneously register to vote and cast ballots at early voting sites.

Four years ago, a record 3.63 million people voted at hundreds of sites in all 100 counties during the early-voting period. This year, the state exceeded that total by Thursday, days before the period ended, the board said.

Including absentee voting, 4,465,548 voters — or 57% of the state’s 7.8 million registered voters — cast ballots in the general election as of Sunday morning, officials said, noting that turnout may be slightly higher because of a lag between when ballots are cast and when data is uploaded.

Turnout in the 25 western counties affected by Hurricane Helene was stronger than the rest of the state at 58.9% — about 2% higher than statewide turnout, officials said.

“I am proud of all of our 100 county boards of elections and the thousands of election workers who are making this happen in their communities,” state board Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell said in a statement. “And I am especially proud of the workers and voters of Western North Carolina. You are an inspiration to us all.”

This year’s strong early turnout has come partly in response to a push by state and national Republicans to get people to vote early. Their message marks a sharp contrast to the 2020 election, when former President Donald Trump — without any evidence to back the claim — said mail-in voting was rife with fraud.

In addition to president, North Carolina residents are choosing a new governor, attorney general and several other statewide positions, along with members of the U.S. House and state General Assembly.