North Carolinians still recovering from a devastating hurricane set a new record on the first day of early voting in the state.
Amid the ongoing aid effort following Hurricane Helene, 353,166 early voters cast their ballots on Thursday to determine if former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris will take the White House. That tally just barely squeaked ahead of the previous first-day record, when 348,599 people voted on day one in 2020.
On Friday, an additional 152,373 voters cast early ballots, according to The Washington Post.
Fellow battleground state Georgia also broke its record for first-day early voter turnout earlier this week. More than 300,000 people cast votes in Georgia on Tuesday, with nearly 300,000 more votes cast on Wednesday.
It’s unclear which candidate might benefit most from the early turnout in a race that polls show remains close.
