{"id":2351913,"date":"2024-10-08T03:27:02","date_gmt":"2024-10-08T07:27:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gop-and-independent-voters-in-nc-most-hurt-by-helene-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-10-08T03:30:25","modified_gmt":"2024-10-08T07:30:25","slug":"gop-and-independent-voters-in-nc-most-hurt-by-helene-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gop-and-independent-voters-in-nc-most-hurt-by-helene-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"GOP and independent voters in NC most hurt by Helene &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgop-and-independent-voters-in-nc-most-hurt-by-helene-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2351913&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses the impact of Hurricane Helene on \u2064North Carolina, particularly\u200d in \u2063the context of the upcoming \u200cpresidential election. The hurricane caused significant destruction in the\u2062 western part of the state, affecting over \u200ba million battleground residents \u2063just \u2063weeks before the election on November 5. This \u200dregion, predominantly composed of Republican\u2064 voters, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/desantis-to-feds-add-madison-county-to-list-of-major-disaster-spots\/\" title=\"DeSantis urges Feds: Include Madison County as a Major Disaster Area.\">experienced extensive damage<\/a>, leading to\u200d concerns about\u2063 voter turnout \u2064and election logistics.<\/p>\n<p>With the storm\u2062 resulting in over 230 fatalities and substantial infrastructure damage, state election officials\u2064 are working to facilitate\u200c voting for affected\u2062 residents. This includes measures to\u2064 adjust \u2063early voting and\u2063 Election Day procedures in at least 13 counties impacted by the hurricane. The storm&#8217;s unpredictability has introduced \u2062complications for both campaigns, with political \u2062strategist David Axelrod noting that displaced voters \u2063may not easily engage \u2063with \u2062the\u200b Trump campaign.<\/p>\n<p>As North Carolina is \u200ba key \u2063battleground state, the \u200bimplications of the\u200d hurricane on voter engagement and turnout could influence the election \u200coutcome. Trump, who narrowly \u200bwon the\u200c state \u200din 2020, is using \u2063the disaster response as \u200ba campaign point, criticizing the Biden administration&#8217;s handling of relief efforts.\u200b Conversely, the state\u2019s election \u200bboard has unanimously approved emergency measures to\u200b ensure \u200bthat logistical issues do not prevent affected residents from voting.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Hurricane Helene most hurt GOP and independent voters in North Carolina: What to know<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1778781\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>The destruction left behind by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/hurricanes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Hurricane Helene<\/a> could alter the outcome of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/presidential\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>presidential<\/a> election given the storm&rsquo;s impact on more than 1 million battleground state residents weeks before Nov. 5.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Far more Republican than Democratic voters live in the area of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/north-carolina\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>North Carolina<\/a> that was devastated in late September by a historic hurricane that tore through the mountains and valleys surrounding Asheville.<\/p>\n<p>With less than a month until voters decide between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, state election officials are putting procedures in place to make it easier for those affected by the storm to vote.<\/p>\n<p>David Axelrod, a Democratic political strategist who advised former President Barack Obama, said the storm&rsquo;s impact has thrown in an &ldquo;unpredictable element&rdquo; into an already complicated effort by both campaigns to win the state. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of displacement in Western North Carolina. Now, Asheville is a blue dot,&rdquo; said Axelrod in a recent episode of the political podcast <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/HacksOnTap\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Hacks on Tap<\/a>. &ldquo;But those voters in Asheville are &mdash; they&rsquo;re, they&rsquo;re the kind of voters that will figure out a way to vote. I&rsquo;m not sure a bunch of these folks who had their homes and lives destroyed elsewhere in Western North Carolina in the mountains there are going to be as easy to wrangle for the Trump campaign.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How did Helene affect western North Carolina?<\/h2>\n<p>Helene claimed the lives of more than 230 people as of Monday. It <a href=\"https:\/\/www.weather.gov\/ilm\/Helene2024\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>made landfall<\/a> on Sept. 26 along the Florida Panhandle and tore through Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina.<\/p>\n<p>It is unusual for a storm to make its way north, several hundred miles west of the Atlantic Coast, and have sustained winds of up to 100 mph, which is what made this one so devastating despite being so far inland.<\/p>\n<p>The flooding was particularly bad in the valleys of the mountainous region because rain waters flowed down the mountains and into the valleys. Asheville&rsquo;s Biltmore Village shopping center was underwater as a result, while surrounding counties sustained horrific damage from the winds, including landslides and countless downed trees across roadways.<\/p>\n<p>The response from the federal government has been &ldquo;slow,&rdquo; according to Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC), who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/video\/6362832937112\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>told<\/a> Fox News on Oct. 4 that National Guard troops had been made ready to deploy to the region but not yet sent in by the Biden administration.<\/p>\n<p>As of Monday, the Defense Department <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defense.gov\/News\/News-Stories\/Article\/Article\/3928134\/dod-increases-support-for-hurricane-helene-response-efforts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>said<\/a> it had sent nearly 1,000 soldiers from Fort Liberty in North Carolina&nbsp;and Fort Campbell in Kentucky to western North Carolina to support residents. An additional 500 soldiers were helping clear&nbsp;emergency routes.<\/p>\n<p>Residents in the region remain without electricity and water. North Carolina&rsquo;s election officials said Monday that it has affected early voting, absentee voting, and Election Day procedures.<\/p>\n<p>In a phone briefing Monday afternoon, state election officials said up to 10 of 62 early voting sites across the region could be reduced due to damage from the hurricane or road closures.<\/p>\n<p>As of Monday, the state election board is examining the state of 270 Election Day sites across that region, according to North Carolina State Board of Elections Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Could this affect the presidential election?<\/h2>\n<p>Data provided by the North Carolina State Board of Elections shows 1,277,579 registered voters across the 25 disaster counties in western North Carolina as of Sunday. Of that total figure, 491,098 voters were unaffiliated with a party and made up the largest share of the region&rsquo;s voters.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans comprised the second-highest share of voters: 480,916, followed by 293,397 Democratic voters. The next largest share of voters was within the Libertarian Party: 8,410, followed by smaller numbers from the Constitution Party, Green Party, Justice for All Party, No Labels Party, and We the People Party.<\/p>\n<p>Trump won North Carolina in the 2020 matchup against President Joe Biden by a mere <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/2020-election\/results\/north-carolina\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>75,000<\/a> votes out of 5.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-says-arizona-election-hearing-shows-enough-fraud-and-voting-irregularities-to-change-election-outcome\/\" title=\"Trump Says Arizona Election Hearing Shows Enough \u2018Fraud and Voting Irregularities\u2019 to Change Election Outcome\">4 million ballots cast<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Trump has made disaster response to the GOP-leaning region a campaign issue. He&rsquo;s blamed the Biden-Harris administration for what he described as the &ldquo;WORST rescue operation.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The GREAT people of North Carolina are being stood up by Harris and Biden, who are giving almost all of the FEMA money to Illegal Migrants in what is now considered to be the WORST rescue operation in the history of the U.S,&rdquo; Trump wrote in a <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/113266524144642679\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>post<\/a> to Truth Social on Monday. &ldquo;On top of that, Billions of Dollars is going to foreign countries! NORTH CAROLINA HAS BEEN VIRTUALLY ABANDONED BY KAMALA!!! DROP HER LIKE SHE DROPPED YOU &ndash; VOTE FOR PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP. MAGA2024!&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>North Carolina is a battleground state that Trump and Harris have frequented this election season to shore up support. Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolling.com\/polls\/president\/general\/2024\/north-carolina\/trump-vs-harris\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"leads Harris\">leads Harris<\/a> by about 1 percentage point, according to the <em>RealClearPolitics<\/em> average of North Carolina polls.<\/p>\n<p>A spokesman for the state elections board <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/3176553\/north-carolina-elections-office-no-way-of-knowing-how-hurricane-affected-absentee-ballots\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"told the Washington Examiner\">told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em><\/a>  last week that absentee ballots sent out via mail could have been damaged in the storm, but officials &ldquo;have no way of knowing.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>As of Sunday, the state had mailed out 41,255 ballots to voters in the hurricane zone and only received back 2,292 &mdash; leaving 38,963 in limbo and unaccounted for.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How has the North Carolina election board responded?<\/h2>\n<p>On Monday, the North Carolina State Board of Elections approved in a unanimous, bipartisan vote emergency measures to help residents affected by the storm be able to vote in the election next month.<\/p>\n<p>The goal, according to Board Chairman Alan Hirsch during the meeting, is that &ldquo;no one is denied the right to vote because of these logistical problems.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Democratic-majority board voted 5-0 to allow county election boards in 13 affected counties to change early voting procedures and Election Day voting sites, as well as the ability to hire more poll workers. <\/p>\n<p>Republican board member Stacy Eggers IV of Boone said although she would typically hesitate to make changes to an election, those passed Monday were &ldquo;tailored to give flexibility to the county boards&rdquo; to meet their individualized needs given the storm&rsquo;s impact on the region.<\/p>\n<p>The counties covered by the change included Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania, Watauga, and Yancey &mdash;&nbsp;roughly half of the total federal designated disaster counties.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Federally designated disaster areas in Western North Carolina (Federal Emergency Management Agency)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>County officials will now be able to decide whether to change early voting sites, hours, and days of operations. Early voting will go on as planned, starting Oct. 17 and running through Nov. 2. Election Day is Nov. 5.<\/p>\n<p>The state election board will not change the voter registration <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncsbe.gov\/registering\/how-register\/voter-registration-deadlines\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"deadline\">deadline<\/a> of Oct. 11.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;These measures were put in place to ensure the victims of Helene can vote in the upcoming election and provide election officials in the hardest hit areas the tools they need to conduct a secure election under extraordinarily difficult conditions,&rdquo; Bell said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\" title><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The newly passed measures allow voters in the 13 counties to request and pick up an absentee ballot in person at their county board of elections until Nov. 4 and drop off the completed ballot at the county board by 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 5.<\/p>\n<p>It also allows near relatives and legal guardians to hand-deliver completed absentee ballots to another county board of election in the case that someone cannot make it to their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-department-of-justice-declares-war-on-voter-id-and-other-election-security-laws\/\" title=\"Biden DOJ opposes Voter ID and election security laws\">local county board<\/a> of polling place.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1778781\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1778781\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hurricane Helene significantly impacted GOP and independent voters in North Carolina, potentially affecting the presidential election outcome<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2655,"featured_media":2351915,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/hurricane-helene-ashville-nc.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[6203,42540,33269],"class_list":["post-2351913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-gop","tag-independent-voters","tag-nc"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/hurricane-helene-ashville-nc.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2351913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2655"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2351913"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2351913\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2351915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2351913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2351913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2351913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}