Many North Carolina communities are making last-minute changes to their 2024 election schedule due to the effects of Hurricane Helene this month.
In Buncombe County, one of the counties hardest hit by the storm, the board of elections approved new early voting dates and locations. Early in-person voting begins Thursday morning and polls remain open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through November 1.
“We have a new early voting plan,” Buncombe Board of Elections Chairman Jake Quinn said in a statement. “I am asking everyone to spread the word.”
Buncombe also needs to adapt polling stations because some are no longer suitable as polling stations or are less accessible. The county has released a list of locations where early voting is currently available.
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Workers, community members and business owners clean up debris from Hurricane Helene in Marshall, North Carolina. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Buncombe County State records show overwhelmingly voted for President Biden in the 2020 election. Biden received 96,515 votes compared to former President Trump's 62,412 votes, a total difference of 60-40%.
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Nearby Watauga County also released its own revised early voting schedule this month. The county board of elections says none of the polling places have changed, but they will now extend their hours to be open on weekends during early voting. Residents will be able to use polling stations from Monday to Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and on Sunday from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Drone view shows hurricane damage following Helene's death in Asheville, North Carolina on September 29. Asheville is located in Buncombe County. (Reuters/Marco Bello)
“We are grateful to all the people who worked so hard to rebuild our county's infrastructure so quickly. It's truly amazing to see people from all over the country stepping up to help strangers in need. This is what America is all about. This helped minimize any disruption to voters so that every voice could be heard. We also want to thank all election officials who offered to work the new weekend shifts. We literally cannot do this without them,” the commission said in a statement.
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Biden also carried Watauga County in the 2020 election, receiving 53% of the vote to Trump's 44%.
A man fills out a ballot at the ballot box on May 17, 2022, in Mount Gilead, North Carolina.
State elections officials will hold a news conference Thursday evening about other measures being taken to ensure the election runs smoothly.
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They say Helene and others affected about 25 counties containing 76 polling places. The news conference will be moderated by Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, and Corinne Duncan, Buncombe County elections director.
Most North Carolina Voters are Republican in 25 of Helene's counties, according to state voter records. Officials say the area has 482,930 registered Republicans compared to 294,106 Democrats. There are also 492,546 unaffiliated voters.
