WESTERN NC (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Just days after Election Day, early in-person voting increased statewide by nearly the same increase in total eligible voters from 2020 to 2024.

From the beginning, in the wake of Helene’s devastation, election officials have expressed an urgency not only to return to normal, but also to ensure that citizens have access to the ballot.

Election workers in Watauga Co. are gearing up for an early vote amid Helene’s recovery

“The Monday after the storm, we knocked on the door wanting to know if the election was going to happen, and we were able to confidently say yes,” Corinne Duncan, director of elections for Buncombe County, told the Queen City News a few weeks after Helene hit .

In Mitchell County, one of the hardest-hit areas, the focus has been on affordability from the beginning.

“I think we’ve done a great job of making sure everyone can vote,” said Roycene Jones, director of the Mitchell County Board of Elections. “Our emergency management team did a great job of making sure they let me know what the area looks like.”

These efforts and voter passion are reflected in early in-person voting numbers. Review of ballots cast in all 25 disaster counties shows an increase in in-person voting from 2020 to 2024. Every county — Ashe, Buncombe, Henderson, Yancey — saw an increase in in-person ballots, except for one. Mitchell County is down 121 votes from the last election on this date.

“We’ve been hit really hard,” Jones said, “and I would say that has something to do with why we’re a little under 2020.”

The NC supermajority is likely in play in the 2024 election

Breaking the numbers down into percentages, Gaston, Mitchell and Watauga are all down for in-person early voting compared to this point in 2020. All other counties saw an increase, with Polk County seeing the largest (10.6%).

“It’s the closest thing to normalcy that they have right now, so I think they’re glad to be able to do something that feels normal to them right now,” Jones said.

The big question is whether absentee voters during COVID will show up in person on Election Day and whether those who have moved from affected areas will exercise their right to vote.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports and video streaming, go to Queen City News.