Despite the path of destruction that Hurricane Helene carved through western North Carolina, Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., told Newsmax that residents are motivated to vote and are finding a way.
Edwards, appearing on "Wake Up America," said that while people in western North Carolina are recovering from the storm, their memories remain fresh.
"What we're seeing here in western North Carolina is that we all remember, while for the last three weeks and few days we've been digging out from the worst storm in our history, we remember what our lives was like the day before the storm, where the Harris-Biden administration had inflicted the most horrendous inflation on us," Edwards said.
"We remember the open borders. We remember the horrible withdrawal from Afghanistan, where Vice President Harris was the last in the room to advise President Biden. So, while we're digging out from all of this, while we're very much distracted, trying to put our lives together, we remember what our lives was like the day before the storm. And there's a great deal of energy for folks to get out and vote."
Recognizing the need for voting flexibility, Edwards said North Carolina has put several measures into place after the hurricane to allow displaced people to exercise their right to vote.
"The first thing is we recognize a lot of folks have moved out of this area to maybe stay with friends and family in other parts of the state, and so we put a provision in place where they could still request an absentee ballot and deliver that ballot to wherever they're at in the state to the board of elections — whether they're in Raleigh, whether they're in Charlotte," he said.
"We're also having to readjust some of the early polling sites because they're not all there now, particularly in their old capacity. Fire stations, for example, are being used as distribution points. But we've got plenty of options out there."
Edwards stressed the importance of making a plan to vote in the November general election.
"I just ask everyone to plan because we're accustomed to procrastinating," he said. "It's within human nature to do that. Given the circumstances now, I just urge everyone to plan the method and where you're going to get out and vote."
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Nicole Wells ✉
Nicole Wells, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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