{"id":115689,"date":"2024-10-18T20:50:47","date_gmt":"2024-10-18T13:50:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=115689"},"modified":"2024-10-18T20:50:47","modified_gmt":"2024-10-18T13:50:47","slug":"north-carolina-residents-defy-hurricane-aftermath-on-first-day-of-early-voting-us-elections-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=115689","title":{"rendered":"North Carolina residents defy hurricane aftermath on first day of early voting | US elections 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">Turnout for early in-person voting has started strongly in the presidential battleground of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/northcarolina\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">North Carolina<\/a>, including in mountainous areas where deadly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/hurricane-helene\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Hurricane Helene<\/a> destroyed property and upended lives but apparently did not dampen a fierce desire to participate in elections.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">More than 400 early voting sites opened as scheduled on Thursday for the 17-day period, including all but four of the 80 sites previously anticipated for the 25 western counties hardest hit by the storm, said the executive director of the state board of elections, Karen Brinson Bell. She credited election workers \u2013 including volunteers affected by the severe weather \u2013 emergency management officials and utility crews.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">\u201cI know that thousands of North Carolinians lost so much in this storm. Their lives will never be the same after this tragedy,\u201d Brinson Bell told reporters in Asheville, the region\u2019s population center and a city devastated by the historic rainfall. \u201cBut one thing Helene did not take from western North Carolinians is the right to vote in this important election.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"f4a686a2-41d4-4692-bf50-36997a2813ab\" data-spacefinder-role=\"richLink\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement\" class=\" dcr-1your1i\"><gu-island name=\"RichLinkComponent\" priority=\"feature\" deferuntil=\"idle\" props=\"{&quot;richLinkIndex&quot;:3,&quot;element&quot;:{&quot;_type&quot;:&quot;model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement&quot;,&quot;prefix&quot;:&quot;Related: &quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Republican congressman issues rebuke over \u2018outrageous\u2019 Helene disinformation&quot;,&quot;elementId&quot;:&quot;f4a686a2-41d4-4692-bf50-36997a2813ab&quot;,&quot;role&quot;:&quot;richLink&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2024\/oct\/09\/republican-chuck-edwards-hurricane-helene-disinformation&quot;},&quot;ajaxUrl&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/api.nextgen.guardianapps.co.uk&quot;,&quot;format&quot;:{&quot;design&quot;:0,&quot;display&quot;:0,&quot;theme&quot;:0}}\"\/><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">Helene\u2019s arrival in the US south-east three weeks ago decimated remote towns throughout Appalachia and killed at least 246 people, with a little over half of the storm-related deaths in North Carolina. It was the deadliest hurricane to hit the US mainland since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/hurricane-katrina\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Katrina<\/a> in 2005 and the deadliest overall in the US since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/hurricane-maria\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Maria<\/a> hit Puerto Rico in 2017.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">Several dozen who died in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/northcarolina\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">North Carolina<\/a> were from Buncombe county, where Asheville is located. Thousands in western North Carolina still lack power or clean running water.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">But that didn\u2019t stop many from voting. About 60 people \u2013 most bundled up in jackets, hats and gloves for the chilly weather \u2013 lined up to cast a ballot at the South Buncombe library in Asheville before the polls even opened at 9am on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">Among them was 77-year-old Joyce Rich, who said Helene made early voting more urgent for her. Rich said while her house was largely spared by the storm, she and her husband still need to do some work on it. Meanwhile, family members who don\u2019t have power or water access are coming over to take showers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">\u201cWe decided, let\u2019s just get it finished,\u201d Rich said. \u201cYou never know what\u2019s going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">In Polk county, an area along the South Carolina border that was also hit by Helene, the parking lot of the county elections board was so packed with early voters that an election worker was forced to direct traffic, with storm debris still evident.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">Voter Joanne Hemmingway, who spent 10 days without power in her home near Tryon, had always planned to vote early, and was thankful that election officials were able to still pull it off after Helene struck.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">\u201cNot having it? That never crossed my mind,\u201d Hemmingway said.<\/p>\n<figure data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.NewsletterSignupBlockElement\" class=\" dcr-173mewl\"><a data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" href=\"#EmailSignup-skip-link-12\" class=\"dcr-jzxpee\">skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n<aside aria-label=\"newsletter promotion\" class=\"dcr-av5vqf\">\n<p class=\"dcr-1xjndtj\">Get the most important US headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning<\/p>\n<p><gu-island name=\"SecureSignup\" priority=\"feature\" deferuntil=\"visible\" props=\"{&quot;newsletterId&quot;:&quot;today-us&quot;,&quot;successDescription&quot;:&quot;Get the most important US headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning&quot;}\"\/><span class=\"dcr-1eusqlu\"><strong>Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our <a data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/help\/privacy-policy\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"dcr-1rjy2q9\">Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google <a data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" href=\"https:\/\/policies.google.com\/privacy\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"dcr-1rjy2q9\">Privacy Policy<\/a> and <a data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" href=\"https:\/\/policies.google.com\/terms\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"dcr-1rjy2q9\">Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/span><\/aside>\n<p id=\"EmailSignup-skip-link-12\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-label=\"after newsletter promotion\" role=\"note\" class=\"dcr-jzxpee\">after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">In adjoining Henderson county, officials closed lanes on a major highway to help move election traffic, and golf carts ferried voters from an auto parts store parking lot to the county\u2019s lone voting site.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">There, voter Michael Dirks said he found himself looking forward to voting after Helene, figuring it would be an important milestone in \u201cgetting back to normal, whatever that might turn out to be\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">In some places, voters stood in line for at least an hour.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">Officials in the 25 counties affected by the storm were still evaluating election day polling locations, with the \u201cvast majority\u201d expected to be available to voters, Brinson Bell said. So far, officials have requested tents for about a dozen sites, she added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2024\/oct\/18\/election-north-carolina-early-voting\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Turnout for early in-person voting has started strongly in the presidential battleground of North Carolina, including in mountainous areas where deadly Hurricane Helene destroyed property and upended lives but apparently &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=115689\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8629],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-115689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-u-s","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=115689"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115689\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=115689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=115689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=115689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}