Oct 18, 2024 - Energy & Climate

North Carolina early voters top 2020 numbers during Helene recovery

Sareen Habeshian

Voter wait in line to cast their ballots during the first day of early voting at a polling station in Wilmington, North Carolina, US, on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. While no Democratic presidential nominee has won North Carolina since 2008, the Harris campaign sees the state's 16 electoral votes as wit — Voter wait in line to cast their ballots during the first day of early voting at a polling station in Wilmington, North Carolina on Oct. 17. Photor: Allison Joyce/Bloomberg via Getty Images

North Carolinians turned out in record numbers for the first day of in-person early voting Thursday, as the state continues to grapple with the destruction left behind by Hurricane Helene.

The big picture: The key battleground state in the 2024 presidential race is still reeling from the storm's devastation, which prompted massive hurdles for voters and election officials in the weeks before the Nov. 5 election.

By the numbers: More than 353,000 North Carolina voters cast ballots Thursday, according to preliminary data from the State Board of Elections.

That's up about 1.3% from the previous record for the first day of early voting set in 2020 with 348,559 ballots.
As of Friday morning, 428,299 people had voted in the state, including 75,133 absentee ballots cast.

What they're saying: "Yesterday's turnout is a clear sign that voters are energized about this election, that they trust the elections process, and that a hurricane will not stop North Carolinians from exercising their right to vote," Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the State Board of Elections, said in a statement Friday.

Zoom out: North Carolina's elections board last week put in new emergency voting procedures aimed at making it easier to cast ballots in the counties hit hardest by Helene.

The measures include allowing county election boards to modify early voting days, hours and locations and to open a polling place in another county if their own polling site has been impacted.
Lawmakers also approved legislation to give $5 million to the State Board of Elections for post-storm administration costs.

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North Carolina early voters top 2020 numbers during Helene recovery

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