CHARLOTTE, N.C.—North Carolina’s election season has been anything but normal.
Hurricane Helene ravaged 25 counties in the western part of the state, leading former President and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump to say that he initially thought that only half of the voters in those mostly conservative-leaning communities would head to the polls.
Instead, the North Carolina State Board of Elections reported that more than 4.2 million ballots were cast during the state’s early voting period, which ended on Nov. 3.
Early voters in the 25 counties that were impacted by Helene turned out in numbers 2 percent higher than the state average.
Todd Andrews and his wife, Mary Andrews, live at the end of a long gravel road atop a mountain outside of Old Fort, North Carolina, in an area that was hard hit by flooding and mudslides from Helene.
He told The Epoch Times that many residents in western North Carolina are unhappy with the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s response to the disaster. In rural mountain towns that are Republican strongholds, that will have an impact at the voting booth.
“It seems like every election, voters on both sides say it’s the most important election in our lifetime. There is more truth to that statement this time than there ever has been in my lifetime,” Andrews said.
“The result will not just shape the next four years, but will define the direction of our country long after that.”
The border crisis is a significant reason why so much is at stake, Andrews said.
“As long as Democrats keep an open border, illegals will keep coming in and we will become a nation of Democratic primaries. Republicans won’t be able to win. I don’t think we will ever have a fair two-party system again if Kamala Harris wins,” Andrews said of the Democratic presidential nominee and current vice president.
As evidenced by their frequent campaign visits to the state, North Carolina is coveted by Trump and Harris.
The 25 counties that comprise the disaster area have 1.3 million registered voters.
Andrews is not surprised that the destruction from Helene didn’t prevent residents from casting their ballots. He said he believes that many people in the region who did not vote early will head to the polls on Election Day.
“Republicans and Democrats here understand the importance of this election. No matter what, people are going to get to the polls and vote,” Andrews said.
Andrews said a Trump victory will help rebuild the economy, seal the borders, reduce crime, and target corporate corruption of government agencies and government weaponization against citizens and political opponents.
If Harris wins, he said, conditions in the United States will “deteriorate even more because of open borders, high crime, more inflation, an out-of-control cost of living, and a packed Supreme Court.”
Andrews said that he is also concerned about how conservatives and Christians will be treated should Harris occupy the Oval Office.
If Trump prevails, Andrews thinks that unrest could erupt across the country.
“We’re going to have all of these people who want to sow chaos, and they’re going to start the riots up again. It is doubtful that Democrats will accept a Trump victory quietly,” he said.
Michael Wood and Danielle Naidow, a married couple with two young children and two adult children, live in Marion, North Carolina, which was hard hit by Helene. They believe that conflict will arise in the United States if Trump does not win.
“I fear there will be unrest and more foreign wars, the economy will get worse, and censorship will get worse,” Wood told The Epoch Times. “We will keep heading closer to becoming a socialist country.”
Naidow said: “Our country was in great shape when Trump was president. It’s hard to process just how bad it has gotten in just four years under [President] Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.”
Wood said he thinks that the Biden–Harris administration, and the Democratic Party as a whole, only care about urban areas like Asheville, Charlotte, Raleigh, and Durham. He feels the mountain towns and rural communities statewide don’t matter to them.
His wife agrees.
“They think we are uneducated rednecks who are Bible thumpers. But we are people who rally around each other, and we are people who vote. I pray that so many people from rural areas come out and vote that it gives Trump a win in North Carolina,” Naidow said.
Wood is optimistic that if Trump wins, the United States will rebound because of the unity movement with figures like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, and Elon Musk.
“If Harris wins, it will get worse, but if Trump wins, just think of the possibilities with an administration that truly covers a wide range of bases,” Wood said. “Trump is called a far-right conservative, but he is showing he is not what they say he is. We will head in a positive direction for a long time if Trump wins. He has to win.”
North Carolina is expecting around 1 million to 1.5 million voters to cast their ballots on Election Day in addition to the 4.2 million ballots cast early, State Board of Elections Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell said in a Nov. 5 press conference.
Polls close at 7:30 p.m. When that happens, officials across North Carolina’s 100 counties will start tabulating early voting results, she explained.
Around 98 percent of unofficial election results will be reported by the end of the night, Brinson Bell said.
In 2008, Barack Obama became the first Democrat presidential candidate to win North Carolina in 30 years. Trump prevailed in 2016 and then edged Biden out by 1.3 percent of the vote in 2020.
Just before daybreak on Election Day, cars started to arrive at the Olde Providence Elementary School voting precinct in Charlotte, a city typically won by Democrats in state and federal elections.
Sarah Pierrie, 37, was one of the first voters in line. She was prepared to cast her ballot for Harris.
“I have two young daughters, so preserving their rights to make decisions for themselves about their health and their body is important to me,” Pierrie told The Epoch Times between sips of coffee on a rain-soaked morning.
“Trump, the person, is dishonest and selfish. Harris will act and speak on behalf of all Americans.”
Jennifer Boyd, 47, arrived early at the poll, too. She said she voted for Trump.
“He does a great job of putting people around him that are competent and capable,” Boyd told The Epoch Times. “And overall, I think it’s about what is best for our country. What way do we want our government to be run? I agree with Trump’s policies.”
Boyd said she voted on Election Day for family reasons.
“My husband and I usually go together, but our oldest son is voting for the first time today, and he didn’t want to get up early,” Boyd said with a smile.
Outside the lavish Mint Hill Town Hall, volunteers from the Mecklenburg County Republican and Democratic parties manned tables and talked to voters.
On the GOP side, Debby Presson and her husband, John Presson, stood next to a life-size cardboard cutout of Trump adorned with a “Make America Great Again” hat.
Mint Hill is a suburban town in southeastern Mecklenburg and northwestern Union counties. Mecklenburg leans to the left with voting habits while Union is more conservative.
“We don’t have a single Republican commissioner in Mecklenburg County. Not one,” Debbie Presson said as she talked to a voter who stopped at the table.
The Pressons told The Epoch Times that as of 8:30 a.m., voter turnout had been light.
“It was good that so many Republicans voted early because things can happen on Election Day to keep you from making it to the polls. Democrats traditionally come out early. Republicans did this year. We haven’t seen the normal crowds this morning. It’s much lighter for both sides, I think,” Debby Presson said.
Four volunteers at the Mecklenburg Democratic Party booth preferred not to give their names but agreed that turnout had been smaller than normal.
They are hopeful that Mint Hill starts to mimic voting patterns in urban Charlotte.
“A lot of new people have moved here in recent years, so I think the town is getting more Democrat voters,” one volunteer said.
A Democratic poll watcher told The Epoch Times that turnout among the early morning crowd voting before work was sparse.
North Carolina has 7.8 million registered voters, and more than 4.4 million ballots were cast before Election Day, including absentee voters, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
“I voted early, and I know a lot of other people who did. It will be interesting to see if the traffic picks up after people get off work,” the poll watcher said.
On Tuesday afternoon, voters filed into the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections headquarters with their absentee ballots.
A mother arrived with her baby swaddled in warm clothes. A woman with a service dog handed over her absentee ballot. There were no lines, and people quickly walked in and out of the building.
Michael Dickerson, who has served as director of the elections board for 26 years, told The Epoch Times that traffic was light compared with previous presidential election cycles. He attributed that to the 4.2 million ballots already cast, which is more than half of the state’s 7.8 million registered voters.
Tucked away in a neighborhood in Charlotte’s historic arts district, Highland Mill Montessori School’s voting precinct is surrounded by homes with Harris banners hanging from porches.
Christian Daniel and Renee Provost are conservatives in a Democratic stronghold. The couple, who recently became engaged, talked to The Epoch Times as they emerged from casting their ballots.
“We’re in a left-leaning community, and we love it here, but I’m disgusted with the direction our country has gone in the last few years,” said Provost, 30. “I’m proud to be a young American who has conservative values.”
The couple entered and departed the precinct without a wait, a common phenomenon at most polling locations across Mecklenburg County, which is anchored by Charlotte.
“Last week, I was having dinner and saw a polling place where the line was super long, so many people did vote early. We both share the same sentiment that Election Day is special. I travel a lot for work, but I wanted to make sure I was off today so we could vote in person together,” Daniel said.
Daniel said that his mother, who is Filipino, has lived in the United States for more than 30 years. She became a U.S. citizen two years ago and voted in an election for the first time on Election Day in Connecticut.
Provost told The Epoch Times that she recalls going with her parents to the polls during elections.
“There was something so exciting about it to me as a kid. I remember thinking how I couldn’t wait for the day when I can exercise this right. There’s something about Election Day that is special. Early voting is convenient, and I’ve done that before, but this is a presidential election, and we wanted to vote in person,” she said.
