Renee Kyro already has voted for Republican nominee Donald Trump for the third consecutive presidential election. But she plans to volunteer for the first time, reaching out to her neighbors in hurricane-battered western North Carolina to make sure they have a voting plan amid a flurry of precinct changes.

The number of people casting ballots on the first day of early in-person voting in presidential battleground North Carolina exceeded the first-day total four years ago — even as Hurricane Helene recov

“Yesterday’s turnout is a clear sign that voters are energized about this election, that they trust the elections process, and that a hurricane will not stop North Carolinians from exercising their right to vote,” Brinson Bell said in a press release Friday.

The more than 353,000 ballots cast signaled enthusiasm in the battleground state, but the significance of the high turnout was unclear.

The South Carolina Gamecocks traveled to take on the Oklahoma Sooners for the first ever meeting between the two schools. South Carolina won the game 35-9 behind an outstanding defensive performance.