By Harley Nefe
Absentee mail-in voting and one-stop early voting made up the majority of ballots cast in Watauga County, according to data from the Watauga County Board of Elections. Those two voting methods also favored presidential candidate Joe Biden significantly over President Donald Trump.
The early-voting location on Appalachian State’s campus recorded 5,212 votes for Biden and just 1,233 votes for Trump. The Boone 2 precinct, which is also where a majority of students vote, was one of just three precincts that voted in favor of Biden during Election Day voting. The other two were Boone 1 and Boone 3, additional strongholds of student voting areas.
Precincts in the rural areas of Watauga County favored President Trump in each location on Election Day.
The table below shows the results from ballots cast in person on Election Day by precinct in Watauga County:
| Precinct | Ballots Cast 11/3 | Donald Trump | Joe Biden |
| 1. Bald Mountain | 70 | 56 | 13 |
| 2. Beaver Dam | 299 | 263 | 30 |
| 3. Blowing Rock | 242 | 161 | 69 |
| 4. Blue Ridge | 230 | 129 | 87 |
| 5. Boone 1 | 114 | 43 | 60 |
| 6. Boone 2 (ASU) | 169 | 52 | 108 |
| 7. Brushy Fork | 361 | 195 | 142 |
| 8. Cove Creek | 258 | 194 | 54 |
| 9. Elk | 99 | 66 | 28 |
| 10. Laurel Creek | 131 | 105 | 21 |
| 11. Meat Camp | 437 | 344 | 77 |
| 12. Boone 3 | 159 | 60 | 89 |
| 13. New River I | 246 | 127 | 103 |
| 14. New River II | 333 | 198 | 119 |
| 15. New River III | 320 | 176 | 131 |
| 16. North Fork | 29 | 24 | 5 |
| 17. Shawneehaw | 154 | 120 | 30 |
| 18. Stony Fork | 182 | 136 | 40 |
| 19. Watauga | 283 | 213 | 59 |
| 20. Beech Mountain | 207 | 129 | 75 |
The table below shows the results from the one-stop early voting period in Watauga County:
| Early Voting Site | Ballots Cast | Donald Trump | Joe Biden |
| Admin | 5266 | 2409 | 2733 |
| ASU | 6597 | 1233 | 5212 |
| Blowing Rock | 2421 | 1272 | 1106 |
| Deep Gap | 3893 | 2582 | 1248 |
| Foscoe | 1519 | 835 | 663 |
| Western Watauga CC | 2799 | 1938 | 831 |
The table below shows results from absentee by mail voting in Watauga County:
| Absentee Voting | Ballots Cast | Donald Trump | Joe Biden |
| 5171 | 1268 | 3783 |
Results are unofficial until all absentee by mail ballots are received by Nov. 12 and the county canvass takes place.