In the first four hours after the polls opened, more than 11,000 people cast their ballots in Buncombe County, NC – one of the communities hit hard by Hurricane Helene in late September.

Although the county is still recovering, 80 polling places were up and running at 6:30 a.m., staffed by about 500 poll workers.

Helene killed at least 30 people in Buncombe County and destroyed thousands of homes, leaving about 12,000 residents unemployed, North Carolina Public Radio reported.

North Carolina is a key swing state. Asheville, which is in Buncombe County, is a Democratic stronghold. But overall, most of the affected counties are conservative and supported Trump by large margins in the 2020 election.

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