Democrats take a big lead in the North Carolina vote as Helene flips the election

Registered Democrats in North Carolina have taken an early lead in returning absentee ballots after rules were relaxed to make it easier for voters in areas devastated by Hurricane Helene.

So far, 22,910 absentee votes have been returned, 9,075 from registered Democrats, 5,595 from registered Republicans and 8,240 from voters not affiliated with the major parties, according to VoteHub.us, whose source is the North Carolina State Board of Elections.

Overall, more Democrats requested mail-in ballots than Republicans.

Another 261,335 absentee ballots have not yet been returned, of which 93,285 are registered Democrats, 65,333 are registered Republicans and 102,717 are not affiliated with the major parties.

Far more voters in the state will cast their votes in person than by mail. As of October 5, there were 7,704,452 registered voters in North Carolina and 284,245 mail-in ballots had been requested.

Last week, Helene swept through the state, flooding towns, destroying buildings (including polling stations), and shutting down roads, power lines, and cell service.

Meanwhile, the state’s first mail-in ballots were mailed on September 24, three days before Helene landed in Florida. Due to the ensuing flooding, the U.S. Postal Service was forced to suspend mail delivery to more than a dozen locations in western North Carolina until further notice.

On Monday, the state Board of Elections unanimously approved a list of emergency measures to help Helene victims so they can vote in the November election. These measures apply to the 13 hardest-hit counties in the western part of the state, some of which need to restore power, internet and water supplies to election offices.

The measures include extending the deadline for voters to request an absentee ballot to Nov. 4, the day before the election, and allowing voters to drop off completed absentee ballots on Election Day. County offices also have the ability to change their polling locations, including opening polling locations in other counties.

North Carolina is one of seven battleground states that will likely decide the outcome of the presidential election.

According to poll aggregator FiveThirtyEight, Trump narrowly leads by 0.8 points on average, 48.2 points to Harris’ 47.4.

If Trump wins North Carolina and the swing states Pennsylvania and Georgia, he could reach the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the election, barring any surprises elsewhere.

Trump could also win by defeating Harris in the four Sun Belt swing states of North Carolina, Arizona, Georgia and Nevada and defeating Wisconsin, Michigan or Pennsylvania.

Trump won North Carolina in 2016 and 2020.