North Carolina launches in-person early voting with mountain communities still recovering from Helene

Many North Carolina communities are making last-minute changes to their 2024 election schedules following the fallout from Hurricane Helene this month.

In Buncombe County, one of the counties hardest hit by the storm, the Board of Elections approved new times and locations for early voting. In-person early voting now begins Thursday morning, with polls remaining open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. until November 1.

“We have a new early voting plan,” Buncombe Board of Elections Chairman Jake Quinn said in a statement. “Please, everyone, spread the word.”

Buncombe also needs to adapt polling locations, as some are no longer suitable for use as polling stations or are more difficult to access. The county has released a list of locations that are now operating for early voting.

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Workers, community members and business owners clean up debris following Hurricane Helene in Marshall, North Carolina. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Buncombe County voted decisively for President Biden in the 2020 election, state records show. Biden received 96,515 votes, compared to former President Trump's 62,412, a total split of 60% to 40%.

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Neighboring Watauga County also released its own revised early voting schedule this month. The county elections board said none of its polling places have changed, but will now expand its hours to be open on weekends during early voting. Residents will be able to access polling stations from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

A drone view shows hurricane damage after Helene hit Asheville, North Carolina, on September 29. Asheville is in Buncombe County. (Reuters/Marco Bello)

“We are grateful to everyone who worked so hard to rebuild our country's infrastructure so quickly. It's truly incredible to see people across the country stepping up to help strangers in need. It's the America's reason for being. This helped minimize any disruption to voters so that every voice could be heard. We also want to thank all the election officials who offered to work during the new weekend shifts. “We literally can’t do it without them,” the council said in a statement.

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Biden also won Watauga County in the 2020 election, receiving 53% of the vote to Trump's 44%.

A man fills out a ballot at a voting booth on May 17, 2022, in Mt. Gilead, North Carolina.

State election officials are expected to hold a news conference later Thursday about other steps they are taking to ensure the election runs smoothly.

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They say about 25 counties were heavily impacted by Helene, and these contain 76 polling places. Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, and Corinne Duncan, Buncombe County elections director, will lead the press conference.

The majority of North Carolina voters in the 25 counties affected by Helene are Republican, according to state voter registration records. Officials say 482,930 registered Republicans live in the area, compared to 294,106 Democrats. There are also 492,546 unaffiliated voters.