The area hit hardest by Helene is deeply Republican. Trump won about 62% of the vote in 2020 in the 25 counties declared to be a disaster area after Helene, while Democratic President Joe Biden won about 51% in the remainder of the state, according to a Reuters analysis.

Trump leads Harris in North Carolina 51% to 47% among likely voters, when leaners are included, in a new Napolitan News Service poll.

The North Carolina Elections Board passed a resolution to adjust voting rules in thirteen swing state counties following Hurricane Helene.

The destruction left behind by Hurricane Helene could alter the outcome of the presidential election given the storm’s impact on more than 1 million battleground state residents weeks before Nov. 5. Far more Republican than Democratic voters live in the area of North Carolina that was devastated in late September by a historic hurricane that