October 14
- A federal judge orders that ABSENTEE BALLOTS in North Carolina must be signed by a witness.
- GOV. ROY COOPER and LT. GOV. DAN FOREST face off in the only pre-election North Carolina gubernatorial debate.
October 15
- The first day of EARLY VOTING brings record turnout; according to the NCBE, there are 230,000 votes cast by 5:30 p.m.
October 16
- Republican poll observer GARY PENDLETON, a former Wake County commissioner, is charged with misdemeanor assault and trespassing after pushing an election worker who said he could not enter a Wake Forest voting location before it opened.
- North Carolina hits its HIGHEST ONE-DAY CASE COUNT of COVID-19 since the pandemic began: 2,684 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, putting the state back in the “red zone.”
- Saint Augustine’s University President IRVING PRESSLEY MCPHAIL dies from COVID-19 complications.
- North Carolina eclipses over 1 MILLION VOTES since the start of mail-in voting. This means about 14 percent of registered North Carolinians have already cast their ballots.
October 17
- The UNC TAR HEELS lose 31–28 against the FSU Seminoles. This kicks the football team out of the national top 10 rankings, bumping them from fifth place to fourteenth. Meanwhile, NC State beats Duke 31–20 and jumps into the AP‘s Top 25.
October 18
- Presidential candidate JOE BIDEN makes a campaign stop in Durham and pays a surprise visit to the Cook Out on Hillsborough Road with his granddaughter Finnegan. The gimmick is savvy—his uninspiring order (a vanilla shake and a chocolate shake), less so.
October 19
- Due to the recent COVID-19 case spike in the state, Cary officials call off the popular November CHINESE LANTERN FESTIVAL.
Follow Deputy Arts & Culture Editor Sarah Edwards on Twitter or send an email to sedwards@indyweek.com.
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