North Carolina’s college voters could be a deciding factor in the presidential election. But Hurricane Helen posed new challenges in shaping an already unreliable group of voters.

At UNC-Asheville, the weekend before the election will be a frenzy for freshman Steven Nguyen, who is one of a handful of students leading a nonpartisan effort to maximize the electoral participation. Students are only starting to return to campus this week after being evacuated because of the storm. Meanwhile, the early voting window ends Saturday, and with it, the last opportunity to register and vote at the same time.

“It makes it harder for us because some students are either enrolled in another state or aren’t yet, and that’s where early voting is most helpful,” Nguyen, 18, said. option for these people, we really have no chance of helping them.