North Carolina is a critical battleground state for former president Donald Trump, but recovery efforts may thwart voting.
Three weeks after Hurricane Helene ravaged western North Carolina, hundreds of roads and bridges remain damaged or closed and tens of thousands of residents still don’t have running water. Many are displaced after losing their homes and businesses, while others are still clearing out muck and debris.
With many Helene survivors still in the thick of recovery, especially residents of rural mountain towns, political analysts and candidates told Business Insider they expect turnout to be lower in the state’s western region. The latest polls show that former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are neck-and-neck, and North Carolina remains a critical battleground state for either candidate’s victory.
« Voting is not the top priority for a whole lot of people right now », said Chris Cooper, a political science professor at Western Carolina University. « Even among the most committed voters. If they don’t have drinkable water, their priorities have shuffled. So I expect voter turnout to be down in the most-affected counties. »
Cooper said his home was largely spared by Helene, but some family members who live in Asheville temporarily relocated to South Carolina. That includes his dad, who had planned to vote early and in-person but now must request a mail-in ballot.
Early voting began in North Carolina on October 17, and state election officials said in-person turnout topped a previous record set in 2020. At the county level, state election officials told BI that comparing this year’s numbers to 2020 wouldn’t be accurate due to several caveats, including that the absentee-by-mail voting period started two weeks earlier in 2020 than it did this year.
The rural mountain areas of North Carolina previously favored Trump.
