It turns out that ignoring Americans during a tragedy doesn’t sit well with voters, especially when life already sucked for them before the storm. 

Rep. Chuck Edwards (NC-R), whose district was heavily affected by Hurricane Helene, shared that although the state is still recovering from the storm, residents remember how life was before the hurricane. He mentioned that families were struggling, gas prices were rising, and the Harris/Biden administration enabled an open border. He also noted that a record amount of fentanyl was coming into the country during that time. 

State assembly member Rep. Jake Johnson said on Thursday that he expects a surprising number of people to show up to vote. He believes many are going out of their way to participate, mainly because they are frustrated with how the federal government has managed the state’s hurricane crisis. 

In an unusual example of teamwork between parties, the Republican-controlled state legislature worked with Democratic Governor Roy Cooper to pass a new elections package. This package aims to make it easier for people in the affected counties to reach ballot boxes before the election on November 5. 

And it seems to be paying off.  

Seventy-six of eighty early voting sites in storm-swept Western North Carolina opened on October 17, the first day of early voting. On that day, 353,166 voters cast their ballots, a 1.3% increase compared to the 348,559 voters on the same day in 2020.  

As of October 20, over 1 million North Carolinians have voted, setting a new record for the state. This number represents about 13% of the state’s 7.8 million registered voters. Of the total votes, 916,433 were cast in person, while 91,690 were absentee votes. Among the absentee votes, 77,831 were from civilians, 11,168 were from overseas voters, and 2,691 were from military voters. 

Edwards, who expressed concern last week about residents being unable to vote, now believes there will be a record number of people voting. On Thursday, he visited an early voting site and spoke with “excited and optimistic voters.” Edwards suggested that this enthusiasm could be a good sign for Trump, as he talked to voters who were unhappy with the country’s current situation before the hurricane. 

Rep. Johnson believes the aftermath of the storm’s recovery will lead more people to vote for Trump. He noted that some rural areas in North Carolina experienced a slow response after the storm, which could motivate those residents to support Republican candidates. Johnson thinks that many people feel the federal response was poorly handled, and he expects a surprising level of pro-Trump voter turnout in western North Carolina. 

Georgia is also breaking records for early voting. According to Gabe Sterling from the Georgia Secretary of State’s office, over 328,000 ballots were cast on Tuesday. This number includes the record-breaking turnout from the first day of early voting and accepted absentee ballots. The previous record for the first day was 136,000 votes in 2020. 

The storm ravaged Georgia, one of this election’s most closely monitored states. Former President Donald Trump is working to win it back after losing to President Joe Biden by a narrow margin four years ago. 

This year, changes to the state’s election processes approved by Republican members of the State Election Board have raised concerns, prompting Democrats and others to file legal challenges. Many of these challenges have not been settled, even as Election Day approaches. 

Experts suggest that new state laws have made absentee voting less attractive than early in-person voting. In 2020, many drop boxes were available 24/7, but fewer will be located at election offices or early voting sites this year. 

Conversely, Georgia’s voting laws now require two Saturdays and Sundays of early voting, which could increase the number of early votes even more. 

On Tuesday, Raffensperger announced that safeguards are in place to ensure a safe election. Every race will be audited, and officials will perform random audits on voting equipment. Raffensperger explained that they would pull a piece of equipment on Election Day, take it to headquarters, and verify that it accurately records votes and hasn’t been tampered with. 

Polls find that Harris and Trump are tied in Georgia and North Carolina. Still, the surge in early voting suggests that these coveted swing state voters, who claim that FEMA was slow and ineffective in its early response to the crisis, are turning out for Trump.