North Carolina election officials are making adjustments to voting rules to accommodate residents in areas affected by recent hurricane damage for early voting in the upcoming election. Hurricane Helene caused significant damage across the southeast, impacting swing states that had already begun early voting. The storm particularly devastated several predominantly red counties and early voting centers, shifting focus to disaster relief efforts.
The North Carolina Elections Board passed a bipartisan emergency resolution on Monday, reforming the state's early voting process in 13 counties, with all but one having voted for former President Donald Trump in 2020. The changes include modifying or adding voting sites, extending voting site hours, and adjusting the days sites are open during the early voting period.
Voters in the affected counties will now have an extended deadline of Nov. 4 to request an absentee ballot. The 13 western North Carolina counties identified as most impacted by the hurricane include Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania, Watauga, and Yancey.
Notably, voters in these counties can now submit their absentee ballots to any county's election board, providing more flexibility compared to the previous requirement of submitting ballots only to their local counties. Former President Trump narrowly won North Carolina in 2020, and early voting has been a key focus of Republican efforts this election cycle.
Despite the storm's impact, Trump expressed confidence in voter turnout, stating that people will make the effort to vote even under challenging circumstances. He mentioned that his daughter-in-law, who co-chairs the Republican National Committee, is actively working to assist impacted North Carolinians in casting their votes.
In-person early voting in North Carolina is set to begin on Thursday, Oct. 17, and will run until Saturday, Nov. 2. The adjustments to the early voting process aim to ensure that all eligible voters in the hurricane-affected counties have the opportunity to participate in the upcoming election.
