North Carolina starts early in-person voting while recovering from Helene

FILE-Voters cast their ballots at a polling station inside Fuquay Varina Community Center in Fuquay Varina, North Carolina. (Allison Joyce/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Early in-person voting will begin Thursday in the battleground state of North Carolina, including in areas where thousands of voters are still without power and clean running water after Hurricane Helene’s massive flooding.
State Board of Elections Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell told the Associated Press that over 400 locations in all 100 counties were expected to open Thursday morning for the 17-day early vote period. Meanwhile, only four of 80 sites in the 25 western counties seriously impacted by Helene will not open.
RELATED: More than 90 people still missing in North Carolina after Hurricane Helene
Early in-person voting runs through Nov. 2. According to the AP, more than 3.6 million ballots — 65% of all cast ballots — were cast this way in the 2020 general election. In the 2016 election, 62% of all cast ballots were cast during early in-person voting.
North Carolina started absentee voting several weeks ago and the AP noted that more than 60,000 completed ballots were submitted so far.  
Additionally, residents displaced by Hurricane Helene are allowed to drop off their absentee ballot at an early voting site in the state.  
RELATED: North Carolina mom of 4 swept up by Hurricane Helene flooding in front of husband, 8-year-old son
This year’s ballot in North Carolina features races for governor, attorney general and several other statewide positions. And all U.S. House and General Assembly seats also are up for reelection.
The AP reported that county election boards have the option to adjust early voting sites, including locations and their daily hours. In Buncombe County, which includes the region’s population center of Asheville, North Carolina, a city devastated by Helene, 10 of the 14 planned early voting sites will be open.
RELATED: Asheville residents battling ‘apocalyptic’ aftermath of Hurricane Helene after deadly flooding, landslides
In Watauga County, the elections board altered early-voting hours to avoid evening travel for voters and poll workers. Officials also increased weekend voting options.
According to the AP, this is the first presidential general election for which North Carolina voters must show photo identification. A resident who has lost their ID because of Helene can fill out an exception form.
Information for this story was provided by the Associated Press.  The AP received comments from North Carolina election officials regarding the early-voting schedule and polling locations.  This story was reported from Washington, D.C.