The historic destruction of Helene did not stop early voting in North Carolina

HOT SPRINGS, N.C. (AP) — About three weeks after Hurricane Helene hit western North Carolina, the Hot Springs Community Center was still caked in mud. A paper sign hung on the door urging visitors to exercise “extreme caution” until the building could be inspected. The reason for the damage was scrawled at the top of the page: water flooding.

Like many other buildings in the town of about 500 residents, flooding left the center in ruins. That was one of many problems for Madison County election officials, who had planned to use the center as one of their three early voting sites.

Finding a new place to set up voting machines — one that wasn't damaged, had enough space and access to power — was among the countless hurdles election officials, poll workers and voters have had to overcome since Helene brought widespread death and destruction to the region.

REGARD: North Carolinians struggle with grief and lack of supplies as they rebuild after Helene

Officials chose the Hot Springs Senior Meal Site as the city's new early voting location. It was a big change for Dean Benfield, who has been a poll worker for more than 20 years. She and her colleagues had a daily routine at the community center that was now disrupted, just like the lives of so many of their neighbors.

“I hated that it was destroyed,” Benfield, 77, said of the community center she had attended since she was a child.

Still, voters showed up on time for early voting last week when the polls opened. Benfield, who runs the polling station, described it as a “great day” with more than 50 voters ultimately casting their ballots.

“Usually the first day, and I’m just telling you, we have four voters, maybe we have five the whole day,” she said. “But it was a good turnout.”

The number of voters is record-breaking

The high turnout for early voting in a small town was just one example of the extraordinary efforts in storm-ravaged counties in western North Carolina to prepare for the start of voting in one of the country's most consequential states Presidential elections are going on.

Even as residents were displaced by flooded homes, communities were cut off by washed-out roads, and power and internet connections failed, state and local election officials have worked with resolute determination to ensure voters can find a way to cast their ballots. Some cities are left without water after their entire systems have been destroyed.

It turned out that the community center in Hot Springs was one of the few of the 80 polling places in Western North Carolina that was unable to open after the storm.

Voter turnout since early voting began last week has been surprisingly high. According to the North Carolina State Board of Elections, voters set a statewide record of more than 350,000 ballots cast on the first day. As of Tuesday — the sixth day of early voting — more than 1.3 million in-person and mail-in ballots had been cast.

Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the State Board of Elections, has repeatedly praised the efforts of local poll workers, some of whom have lost their own homes. She described the damage as unprecedented and the challenges it faced for poll workers as daunting. But in the first week of early voting, the process went remarkably smoothly and few complaints were aired publicly.

“Mountain residents are strong, and the electors who serve them are resilient and tough,” she said last week.

“Glimmer of hope”

That doesn't mean it was easy. The Associated Press spent two days at the start of early voting with poll workers and voters in two counties ravaged by Helene: Madison, a reliably Republican county that has delivered overwhelming victories to Donald Trump in the last two presidential elections; and Buncombe, a Democratic-leaning county in the hardest-hit region and home to the arts and tourism center Asheville. They voted heavily for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020.

Many poll workers spoke of disruptions to their normal routine. Sometimes they share building space with first responders or hurricane volunteers. They also must adapt to new state election rules to improve voter accessibility after the storm.

Confusion over where polling places are located has been one of the most common issues Madison County elections director Jacob Ray has had to deal with. Another challenge was non-functioning telephones in the election office, which made communication with voters difficult.

But Ray said it has gone well so far in getting the election on the right track, given the destruction in downtown Hot Springs and Marshall, two of the county's central cities.

All of his scheduled poll workers, about 70, are still available to work during the early voting period and on Election Day, Ray said. About a week after the storm, Ray said his office had a plan for what to do next.

This included sharing a school site, the AB Tech Madison campus in Marshall, with the local fire department, which had a staging area outside the building to respond to emergencies and assist with hurricane relief.

Boxes of water bottles were piled up outside. A small group of poll workers prepared for early voting in a classroom. In an adjacent one were children's beds and Red Cross bedding.

When Kent Self, a poll worker at the Marshall polling station, saw the initial damage caused by Helene, he asked one question: “Will we even be able to hold an election?”

He has since answered his own question and the storm has seemed to get better every day since then.

“We’re starting to see more glimmers of hope,” he said.

Residents line up to enter a polling station on the first day of early in-person voting in Asheville, North Carolina, USA, on October 17, 2024 in Asheville, North Carolina, USA. Photo by Jonathan Drake/REUTERS

No electricity, no water and no roads, but the vote continues

Recovery is progressing in both counties. Large trees that once blocked major roads now line their shoulders. Construction crews are everywhere, repairing badly damaged buildings or fixing roads.

In Buncombe County, access to clean water remains a challenge after Helene washed away major pipelines. It's not yet clear how the devastation in and around Asheville will affect voter turnout leading up to Election Day, but a decline from previous elections could specifically impact Harris' chances in the state given the county's Democratic leanings.

Some voters were determined to cast their ballot. They overcame detours forced by damaged roads, extended power outages and other disruptions to make their voices heard in what many have called one of the most critical presidential elections of their lifetimes.

Susan and Stephen Miller's Buncombe County home still had no power or water last week, and the flooding had caused black mold. The couple spent the weeks since Helene arrived moving between rental properties so Stephen could work remotely.

Susan Miller said she knows people who were forced to leave their homes after roads and bridges collapsed. The Millers had better luck and were able to drive to the Black Mountain Library on the first day of early voting.

She wasn't surprised to see a number of voters who said Black Mountain was an “active” community. She also noted how warm the building was, providing refuge from the cold for people who didn't already have heat at home.

“I'm really happy to see so many people. I was happy to wait, and I would have waited twice as long to be able to do this,” Stephen Miller said after the couple cast their vote for Harris.

Determined to cast their vote

It's tradition for Diana and Richard Rockwell to vote early, but this year that meant they had to go to a different polling place.

The couple's usual polling place in Swannanoa, a town in Buncombe County a few miles from Black Mountain, was used for recovery efforts. They went to Black Mountain Library instead after receiving an email about a change in polling locations.

The couple said they were looking forward to the vote despite the community's difficulties. After the storm, they had helped neighbors communicate with their loved ones.

“You get to know people and see how friendly they are, and you might not have known that,” Diana Rockwell said.

Both Republicans, the Rockwells said they care most about abortion, immigration and the economy.

Lynn Ferry had already filled out her mail-in ballot and drove to the Black Mountain Library to drop it off. Her home was mostly undamaged, but she was without internet access for over two weeks and several streets near her home were flooded.

Their journey to the library was more difficult and longer than usual due to landslides that closed some roads.

She had to park several blocks from the library, but it was only a minor inconvenience. She said she wants to make sure her ballot “gets into the hands of the people who are counting the votes.”

“If I had to drive 20 hours one way to cast a vote, I would have,” Ferry said. “That’s why it’s important for each of us to take responsibility for this country.”

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