Early voting concluded Saturday, and the voter numbers have shattered those from past years.

More 2.5 million people voted early in North Carolina, which is about 72.5 percent of total votes cast in the 2004 election.

Democratic vice presidential candidate Barack Obama has campaigned heavily in North Carolina in hopes of winning Nov. 4. It would be the first time a Democrat has won North Carolina’s 15 electoral votes since 1976.

While the voting results are not made public before polls close, voter demographics are available.

Michael McDonald, an associate professor at George Mason University, has compiled early voting information from around the country.

Fifty-one percent of those who early voted in North Carolina were Democrats, while 30.1 percent were Republicans.

The gap between Republican and Democrat early voters is almost double what it was in 2004, when President George Bush won the state by 12.5 percent.

Democrats have also registered many new voters in the state this year, and account for 2.8 million North Carolina voters to the Republicans’ 2 million voters.

Source: United States Election Project