Name: Early In-Person Voting Begins in Helene-Battered North Carolina
Uploaded: 2024-10-17T19:29:20.000Z
Description: CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Voters across the state of North Carolina headed to the polls on Oct. 17 as the state’s early voting period begins.

Stefania Cox is an NTD News anchor and national correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Stefania anchors "NTD Newsroom," and co-anchors "NTD News Today" weekdays at 10:00 am ET.

Stefania Cox

Cary Dunst is the news anchor for NTD Evening News. He is also the co-host of NTD Good Morning.


Cary Dunst

NTD Plus

News

We present news that is truthful and based on facts, outside of the political fog. Instead of focusing on the negative things happening around us, our mission is to give our viewers a good morning with empathetic and uplifting stories. Our aim is to provide an antidote to negativity by shining a light on the best side of people. We speak to inspiring people who positively impact communities, pursue topics that represent our common human values, and will never miss an opportunity to bring you heartwarming stories.

NTD Good Morning

Smart Spending: How to Save on Summer Travel

UAE Suffered More Iranian Missiles Than Israel, Paving Way for Iron Dome: Analyst

NTD Newsroom comprises teams of reporters, editors, and producers assigned to cover breaking news and other stories.


NTD Newsroom

Washington Event to Rededicate US as ‘One Nation Under God’

Best-Selling Author Concerned Christians May Be Next in China’s State-Sanctioned Organ Trade

Jason Perry is an Army veteran and NTD's National Security Correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Jason primarily covers border security, national defense, foreign wars, and veterans' issues.

Jason Perry

Pentagon Paves the Way to Buy 10,000 Containerized Missiles

US Reports No Hantavirus Cases From Cruise Outbreak

Juliette Fairley is a freelance reporter for NTD and The Epoch Times and a graduate of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Born in Chateauroux, France, and raised outside of Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, Juliette is a well-adjusted military brat. She has written for many publications across the country. Send Juliette story ideas at JulietteFairley@gmail.com

Juliette Fairley

Daniel Monaghan is a reporter for NTD News covering culture, social issues, and education. He holds a BA in Political Science and Government.

Daniel Monaghan

US News

Politics

Executive Branch

Rubio: China is ‘Top Geopolitical Challenge’

The Associated Press is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. 

The Associated Press

Jury Awards $49.5 Million to Family of Woman Killed in 2019 Boeing Max Crash

Andrew Moran has been writing about business, economics, and finance for more than a decade. He is the author of "The War on Cash."

Andrew Moran

China News

Trump Departs China After 2-Day Talks With Xi

Haika Mrema

Medical Plane Crash in New Mexico Mountains Kills 4, Sparks Wildfire

Accommodating, Enabling China’s Regime a Failed Strategy: China Expert

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 15)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 14)

Kevin Hogan is an NTD News data reporter and national correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Kevin covers breaking news, as well as U.S. and global current events. He conveys the news through data visualizations and investigates pressing issues.

Kevin Hogan

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 13)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 12)

President Trump Leaves for China Today; Calif. Mayor to Plead Guilty to Acting as CCP Agent | NTD Good Morning (May 12)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 8)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 7)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 6)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 5)

Fast, compelling, first-hand news from China. China in Focus airs Monday–Friday at 8 p.m. ET.

China in Focus

China Sends Warships to Pacific Drill as Tensions With Japan Rise

Reuters is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages.

Reuters

2 US Embassy Personnel Assigned to Cartel Case Killed in Car Accident

Gunman Kills 8 Children, Including 7 of His Own, in Louisiana Mass Shooting

Flora Hua is a reporter based at NTD's global headquarters in New York City, where she covers China news, U.S.-China relations, and human rights issues. Flora primarily contributes to NTD's "China in Focus."  

Flora Hua

Trump: Seized Iranian Ship May Have ‘A Gift From China’

Joseph Lord is a congressional reporter for The Epoch Times.


Joseph Lord

Aldgra Fredly is a freelance writer covering U.S. and Asia Pacific news for The Epoch Times.

Aldgra Fredly

Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani Hospitalized in Critical Condition: Spokesman

Wildfires Across Georgia and Florida Have Destroyed Nearly 50 Homes and Are Forcing Evacuations

News you can trust from the U.S. and around the world. Critical information and insight. We cover the stories that others don’t. NTD News Today airs Monday–Friday at 11 a.m. ET.

NTD News Today

US Warns of China Hacks via Routers, Smart Devices

Juliet Song is an international correspondent exclusively covering China news for NTD. She primarily contributes to NTD's "China in Focus," covering U.S.-China relations, the Chinese regime's human rights abuses, and domestic unrest inside China.

Juliet Song

2 Americans Among Suspected Communist Rebels Killed in Clashes With Troops, Philippine Officials Say

Ryan Morgan is a reporter for The Epoch Times focusing on military and foreign affairs. He was previously a news writer for NTD. 


Ryan Morgan

Mari Otsu is NTD's White House correspondent based in Washington. 

Mari Otsu

World News

Middle East

Iran

3 US Warships Fend Off Iranian Attacks, Trump Says Ceasefire Still Holds

Health News

3 Dead in Suspected Hantavirus Outbreak on Cruise Ship in Atlantic Ocean: WHO

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Voters across the state of North Carolina headed to the polls on Oct. 17 as the state’s early voting period begins.

Citizens will have until 3 p.m. on Nov. 2 to cast their ballots early in person and avoid typical Election Day lines.

Still reeling from Hurricane Helene, the challenge is how the state will ensure that those affected can vote.

“The people of western North Carolina will vote,” Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRvKf9AktUI" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">said</a> at an Oct. 15 press conference.

“Before the storm, 80 sites were planned, so we just lost a few, despite the extensive damage, loss of power, water, internet, and phone service, and the washing out of roads throughout the region,” she said.

Twenty-five North Carolina counties have been designated as disaster areas in the wake of Helene, a Category 4 storm that touched down in Florida on Sept. 26 and proceeded to devastate the Southeast with historic levels of flooding. At least 230 people were killed.

The hurricane hit western North Carolina’s mountainous region the hardest, in some cases washing away entire towns that were unprepared for the storm.

Bell advised that 76 voting sites will be open to the more than 1.2 million registered voters in those areas.

Bell added that the state expects to have at least one early voting site open in every county during the early voting period, with modified schedules in some areas.

Those modifications are just one of the election rule changes the state is allowing in the wake of Helene.

Other <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/State_Board_Meeting_Docs/2024-10-07/20241007%20Emergency%20Resolution%20for%2013%20WNC%20Counties_Final_Signed.pdf" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">revisions</a> approved earlier this month include allowing outreach teams in the 13 hardest-hit counties to visit disaster shelters to help residents cast their ballots. Changes also were made to some absentee voting rules.

As of Oct. 10, more than 47,000 absentee ballots had been mailed to voters in the affected counties; so far, fewer than 5,700 had been returned.

With nearly 19 Post Office locations in the state still closed due to damage from Helene, returning ballots by mail may not be an option for some.

Under the new rules, those in the designated disaster areas may pick up their absentee ballots at local election offices and return them to any county election office or early voting site. Affected voters also may vote absentee in-person at their local election office until 5 p.m. on Nov. 4.

All absentee ballots must be received by 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 5.

Bell noted that in-person early voting has been the most popular choice of North Carolina voters in recent general elections, “and we expect that will continue in 2024.”
<h2>Early Voters Sound Off</h2>
At 10 a.m. on Oct. 17, there was a long line for early voting outside the train depot in Kannapolis, an outer suburb of Charlotte.

Alfonso Patterson was one of many locals who turned out.

He told The Epoch Times that he cast his choice in 2024 as a referendum on one man: Trump.

Alphonso Patterson walks to a voting center in Kannapolis, N.C., on Oct. 17, 2024. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

“I have friends that have felonies and stuff like that. My personal opinion—I don’t believe that a [felon] should be able to run for president,” he said.

Patterson said he had voted for Republicans before, including President Ronald Reagan.

“I flip-flop. I vote for the person who has the best values,” he said.

Early voters wait to cast their ballots in Kannapolis, N.C., on Oct. 17, 2024. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

At least some economic issues weigh on him. He said property taxes on his home “went up tremendously.”

“If anybody else would have been running Republican that’s a decent guy, I’d have voted Republican,” Patterson said.

Polling from Gallup <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/651092/2024-election-environment-favorable-gop.aspx" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">suggests</a> many Americans may lean toward Republicans out of dissatisfaction with how the economy has fared under the incumbent Democrats.

While voting for Trump was a bridge too far for occasional GOP voter Patterson, early voters Jordan and Lauren Williams were proud to choose the previous commander-in-chief. The economy tops their list of concerns.

“Hopefully we can get back to a simpler time of our economy increasing,” Lauren Williams said. Her husband, who works as a firefighter, agreed.

Jordan and Lauren Williams leave a voting center in Kannapolis, N.C., on Oct. 17, 2024. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

A key firefighter union that backed President Joe Biden in 2020, the International Association of Fire Fighters, has <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/firefighters-union-declines-to-endorse-trump-or-harris-in-presidential-race-5735120" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">opted against</a> issuing an endorsement this year. They joined the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which also <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/teamsters-union-makes-no-endorsement-for-president-5725794" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">issued</a> polling showing that rank-and-file union members preferred Trump to Harris.

Lauren Williams is a stay-at-home mom who runs a décor business on the side, she said.

“This is my busy time. This is the first year I’ve seen a drop—a significant drop—because people just don’t have the money,” she said.

Why did the couple show up so early to vote?

Jordan Williams’s answer was simple: “Get ahead of the line.”

<em>From <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/early-in-person-voting-begins-in-helene-battered-north-carolina-5742282">The Epoch Times</a></em>

Latest

Videos

04_Top Stories

north

voting

Latest Clips

Carolina

Management

Nathan Worcester covers national politics for The Epoch Times and has also focused on energy and the environment. Nathan has written about everything from fusion energy and ESG to Biden's classified documents and international conservative politics. He lives and works in Chicago. Nathan can be reached at nathan.worcester@epochtimes.us

Nathan Worcester

Evelyn Li is an NTD News anchor based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Evelyn co-anchors "NTD Good Morning" weekdays at 7:00 am ET. She previously worked as a business correspondent for NTD.

Evelyn Li

2024 Elections

02_Second Lead

Samantha Flom is a reporter for The Epoch Times covering U.S. politics and news. A graduate of Syracuse University, she has a background in journalism and nonprofit communications.
Contact her at samantha.flom@epochtimes.us

Samantha Flom

Latest and breaking news, documentaries, movies, and lifestyle content on NTD+.
 
Empower your knowledge and elevate your spirit with NTD+, your go-to destination for truthful news, insightful documentaries, and captivating lifestyle content that enriches your life.