Editing Scotland County, North Carolina (section)

===Politics===
{| role="presentation" class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
| <strong>Historical presidential election returns</strong>
|-
| {{PresHead|place=Scotland County, North Carolina|source=<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|last=Leip|first=David|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=March 17, 2018}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|7,767|6,754|105|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|7,473|7,186|116|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|2016|Democratic|6,256|7,319|353|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|2012|Democratic|5,831|8,215|110|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|2008|Democratic|6,005|8,151|61|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|2004|Democratic|5,141|6,386|20|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|2000|Democratic|3,740|5,627|36|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1996|Democratic|2,858|4,870|571|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1992|Democratic|2,980|5,175|1,205|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1988|Democratic|3,199|3,865|20|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|4,077|4,028|12|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1980|Democratic|2,133|4,446|203|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1976|Democratic|1,932|4,430|22|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|3,485|1,938|49|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1968|Democratic|1,717|2,252|2,016|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1964|Democratic|1,229|3,844|0|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1960|Democratic|1,279|3,643|0|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1956|Democratic|1,171|3,042|0|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1952|Democratic|1,590|2,912|0|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1948|Democratic|359|1,957|503|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1944|Democratic|303|2,372|0|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|250|2,981|0|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|314|3,183|0|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|208|2,608|6|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1928|Democratic|588|1,761|0|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1924|Democratic|205|1,469|11|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1920|Democratic|306|1,705|0|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|137|938|0|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1912|Democratic|9|751|75|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1908|Democratic|85|714|0|North Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1904|Democratic|65|646|0|North Carolina}}
{{PresFoot|1900|Democratic|44|925|2|North Carolina}}
|}

As of 2024, 45 percent of registered voters in Scotland County are Democrats, 21 percent are registered Republicans and 32 percent are unaffiliated.<ref name= rappaportweaver>{{cite news| last1 = Rappaport| first1 = Ben| last2 = Weaver| first2 = Kerria| title = Rural Black voters, including those in Scotland County, are key for Democrats in NC| newspaper = Border Belt Independent| date = February 20, 2024| url = https://borderbelt.org/democrats-focus-black-voters-nc-scotland-county/| access-date = March 1, 2024}}</ref> While the county has historically voted for Democratic candidates, in recent years it has become a [[Swing (politics)|swing]] county.<ref name= charlotteobserver/>{{sfn|Cooper|2024|p=35}} Like other areas in the region, the county's voting patterns have trended more favorably to Republicans.<ref name= rappaport1/> Democratic voter registration shares declined from 58 percent of the county's registered voters in 2016 to 48 percent in 2022, while Republican and unaffiliated voter registration rates increased.<ref name= charlotteobserver>{{cite news| title = Anatomy of a swing state: What these 6 counties tell us about the upcoming NC election| newspaper = The Charlotte Observer| date = November 4, 2022| url = https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/election/article267776257.html| access-date = November 4, 2022}}</ref> Democratic presidential candidates [[Barack Obama]] and [[Hillary Clinton]] won the county in 2008, 2012, and 2016. In 2020, both Republican presidential candidate [[Donald Trump]] and Democratic gubernatorial candidate [[Roy Cooper]] secured a majority of its votes.<ref name= rappaport1>{{cite news| last = Rappaport | first = Ben| title = In rural Scotland County, voters say candidates must show up to gain their support| newspaper = Border Belt Independent| date = April 25, 2024| url = https://borderbelt.org/in-rural-scotland-county-voters-say-candidates-must-show-up-to-gain-their-support/| access-date = May 1, 2024}}</ref> In the 2024 elections, Republican presidential nominee Trump and Democratic gubernatorial nominee [[Josh Stein]] both won the county,<ref>{{cite news| last = Rappaport| first = Ben| title = Rural southeastern NC gets more red, even as Democrats win key state races| newspaper = Border Belt Independent| date = November 6, 2024| url = https://borderbelt.org/rural-southeastern-nc-picks-republican-candidates/| access-date = November 10, 2024}}</ref> while Republicans won a majority of the seats on the county commission.<ref name= rappaport2/>