Both Harris and Trump make final push for NC voters | Live Blog

With only hours remaining until the polls open, one North Carolina voter took a three-hour flight home to make sure her vote would be counted.

Ella Lundgren, 19, is from Raleigh -- and attends the University of Miami.

She told ABC11 that she didn't want to wait for an absentee ballot, so she flew home to the Triangle to cast her first-ever vote for president in person.

With only hours remaining until the polls open, one North Carolina voter took a three-hour flight home to make sure her vote would be counted.

"I think with every election, it's important. I mean, based on the foundations of democracy, it's important to get your vote in" Lundgren said. "Democracy is built on civic participation. And so, I mean, I'm lucky enough to be able to vote. So, I don't see why I wouldn't."

Lundgren said she plans to be first in line Tuesday at the polls so she can catch her flight back to Miami at noon and be back in class by 5 p.m.

Canvassers were out in full force Monday night and candidates were wrapping up the last of their big rallies in North Carolina, hoping to make their final cases before voters head to polling places on Tuesday.

Volunteers weren't slowing down in the final moments of the 2024 election season, going door to door to have those last-minute conversations with voters who have yet to cast their ballots.

Watch the full report in the video below.

Volunteers weren't slowing down in the final moments of the 2024 election season.

First lady Jill Biden greeted supporters in Carrboro, such as Abby Gondeck, who's a UNC student but flew to her home state Pennsylvania to vote for the first time. The crowd applauded when she was introduced as a first-time voter to Biden.

"Oh my goodness, just like shaking your hand," Gondeck said. "My grandmother loves her. I'm going to go leave and call her right now, and I'm sure she's going to lose her mind when I send her a picture. But it was surreal."

First lady Jill Biden greeted supporters in Carrboro.

Gondeck was among the people who packed the room at the Women for Harris phone bank launch where Biden went around and talked to people one-on-one after thanking the crowd for their support.

The visit comes as the Harris campaign has specifically focused on women in this election.

According to the final ABC News/Ipsos poll before Election Day, released on Sunday, Harris had an 11-point advantage among women, 53% to 42%, while Trump had a 5-point advantage among men, 50% to 45%.

Dr. Sarah Treul talks about the importance of women voters in this election

For Gondeck, she said she's seen firsthand how Harris is appealing to young women voters such as herself on campus.

"I live with six other girls right now, and like our wall is smothered in Harris posters," Gondeck said. "My apartment building is primarily women ... and one of these (Harris-Walz) shirts, like the amount of smiles I get from young women, it's just very revealing, I think, to how she's making herself known."

Meagen Voss, who's a volunteer with the Harris-Walz campaign, echoed Gondeck.

"My feeling is that women are pumped up," Voss said. "This is an election cycle that matters to them and that they're going to show up (to the polls) in force."

North Carolina Central University associate professor of political science Dr. Jarvis Hall spoke with ABC11 about the demographics of early voting in North Carolina.

Early voting in the Tar Heel state saw 4.5 million ballots cast. That's nearly 57% of registered voters and nearly 1 million more than voted early in 2020.

However, the early returns showed lower than expected turnout among Black, Hispanic and Latino voters.

Watch Dr. Jarvis Hall's full interview:

North Carolina Central University associate professor of political science Dr. Jarvis Hall spoke with ABC11 about the demographics of early voting in North Carolina.