'Too much on the line.' Early voters turn out in Western NC after Helene scrambled plans Read more at: https://www.news

The Marion and Old Fort early voting sites are about a 15-minute drive apart, but on a sunny Wednesday afternoon in late October, the scenes in each location were vastly different.

At the McDowell County Board of Elections in Marion, which has an early voting site for the 2024 election, the parking lot was full. Although there was no line, a steady stream of voters flowed in and out of the building. The roads leading to the site were mostly clear, with some mud and downed trees pushed to the shoulders — remnants of Hurricane Helene’s impact in late September. Outside, volunteers from both Republican and Democratic parties set up stations to engage with voters......

The stakes are high, as North Carolina is a key battleground state in the 2024 presidential election. The state’s mountain region also has a diverse political landscape that includes predominantly Democratic Asheville in Buncombe County, with the outskirts of the county leaning slightly more Republican. Meanwhile, the majority of counties in Western North Carolina tend to favor the GOP.

Unlike in neighboring Buncombe County, which had to reduce early voting sites because of vacancies, the smaller McDowell County hasn’t had difficulty staffing voting sites despite Helene’s destruction, said Kimberly Welborn, the elections director in McDowell.





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