Strong Early Voting Turnout in NC Despite Helene’s Devastation \ Newslooks \ Washington DC \ Mary Sidiqi \ Evening Edition \ Early in-person voting kicked off with strong turnout across North Carolina, including hurricane-ravaged areas, as voters remain determined despite the destruction from Hurricane Helene. More than 400 sites opened, including many in the hardest-hit western counties, allowing voters to cast ballots despite ongoing power and water outages. Officials praised the resilience of both voters and election workers for overcoming the storm’s challenges to participate in the election.
North Carolina Voters Overcome Hurricane Helene Quick Looks
- Early in-person voting started strong across North Carolina, even in regions devastated by Hurricane Helene.
- Despite the storm’s destruction, most early voting sites opened on schedule, allowing residents in hard-hit areas to vote.
- Election officials and volunteers worked hard to ensure access to voting, with some locations seeing lines of eager voters early in the day.
Deep Look
Despite the widespread devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, early in-person voting kicked off with high turnout in the battleground state of North Carolina on Thursday. Voters across the state, including those in areas most severely impacted by the storm, showed up in force to cast their ballots. The storm, which left at least 246 dead across the Southeast, hit remote Appalachian towns in western North Carolina particularly hard, but that didn’t dampen residents’ determination to vote.
North Carolina opened more than 400 early voting sites as scheduled, with only four of the 80 planned sites in the 25 western counties remaining closed due to storm damage. Karen Brinson Bell, the State Board of Elections Executive Director, credited the hard work of election officials, emergency crews, and volunteers—many of whom were personally affected by the storm—for making it possible to launch early voting on time.
“I know that thousands of North Carolinians lost so much in this storm. Their lives will never be the same after this tragedy,” Brinson Bell said, speaking to reporters in Asheville, one of the areas hardest hit by Helene’s historic rainfall. “But one thing Helene did not take from western North Carolinians is the right to vote in this important election.”
Hurricane Helene’s Impact
Hurricane Helene, the deadliest storm to hit the U.S. mainland since 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, decimated large parts of Appalachia and caused severe damage across western North Carolina. The storm took the lives of more than 246 people, with half of the deaths occurring in North Carolina. Among the hardest-hit areas were Buncombe County, home to Asheville, where dozens of lives were lost. Thousands of residents remain without power and clean water, but the ongoing disaster did little to stop voters from heading to the polls.
In Buncombe County, a long line of voters gathered outside the South Buncombe Library before polls opened at 9 a.m. Despite the cold weather, around 60 people bundled up in jackets, hats, and gloves, eager to cast their votes. For 77-year-old Joyce Rich, the devastation caused by the storm made early voting even more urgent. “We decided, let’s just get it finished,” Rich said. “You never know what’s going to happen.”
Resilience of North Carolina Voters
Similar scenes unfolded across the region. In Polk County, which also sustained heavy damage, voters packed the parking lot of the county elections board, forcing election workers to direct traffic. Voters, some of whom parked blocks away due to debris-strewn sidewalks, walked to the polling site eager to participate.
Joanne Hemmingway, a resident near Tryon, had been without power for 10 days but never doubted she’d cast her ballot. “Not having it? That never crossed my mind,” she said, praising election workers for keeping the process moving despite the circumstances.
In Henderson County, election officials closed lanes on a major highway to help ease traffic around the county’s sole voting site. Golf carts ferried voters from parking lots as long lines formed throughout the day.
“Voting today felt like a milestone in getting back to normal, whatever that might be,” said Michael Dirks, one of the many voters eager to cast his ballot after enduring the storm’s aftermath.
Record Turnout on the Horizon?
Early in-person voting will continue through November 2, and officials are hopeful that the turnout trend will continue despite the challenges. In the 2020 election, over 3.6 million ballots, or 65% of the total votes, were cast during early voting. The 2016 election saw 62% of the total ballots cast early, highlighting the importance of this voting method in North Carolina’s electoral process.
Challenges Ahead
Although the early voting process has begun successfully, election officials in the 25 counties affected by Hurricane Helene are still assessing the viability of polling locations for Election Day. According to Brinson Bell, the “vast majority” of these sites are expected to be available for voters, but requests for temporary tents have been made for about a dozen locations.
Absentee voting has been ongoing for weeks in North Carolina, and over 67,000 ballots have already been submitted. Residents displaced by the storm are permitted to drop off their absentee ballots at any early voting site in the state, ensuring that those affected by Helene can still participate in the election.
Political Campaigns Ramp Up Efforts
The significance of early voting in North Carolina wasn’t lost on the presidential campaigns. Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz campaigned in the state on Thursday, hosting events with former President Bill Clinton in Durham. Meanwhile, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem and Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley resumed the “Team Trump Bus Tour” in Rutherford County, which was heavily impacted by the hurricane.
The North Carolina ballot is packed with key races, including for governor, attorney general, and all U.S. House and General Assembly seats. As early voting continues, both parties are making a strong push to energize voters in this critical battleground state.
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