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North Carolina residents impacted by Helene likely to see some voting changes

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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Voters in western North Carolina impacted by 
Hurricane Helene’s devastation may see several changes to how they can 
cast their ballots in the coming weeks after the state’s election board 
approved an emergency resolution that modifies voting rules.

The resolution unanimously passed by the North Carolina State Board of 
Elections, which has both Democratic and Republican members, on Monday 
comes less than two weeks after Helene destroyed large swaths of western 
North Carolina — displacing residents, damaging homes and washing away 
roads.

In a critical presidential election that may hinge on which way the 
battleground state swings, that widespread disruption also presents major 
problems for how residents can cast their votes by Nov. 5.

Still, the board reiterated several times during Monday’s meeting that it 
was committed to ensuring early voting and Election Day happens on 
schedule across the state, while also making sure “no one is denied the 
right to vote because of these logistical problems,” said board chairman 
Alan Hirsch, who is a Democrat.

“I’m generally very hesitant to make changes to the normal running of our 
election,” said Republican member Stacy Eggers IV, who is from Boone in 
western North Carolina. “But these have been tailored to give flexibility 
to the county boards to meet those specific needs.”

The resolution outlines 13 counties in western North Carolina that have 
polling places or mailing services that were “severely disrupted” by 
Helene, either because of damage, inaccessibility, using locations for 
disaster relief or lack of staff. As of Monday, all county elections 
offices were open, executive director Karen Brinson Bell said.


Approximately 10 early voting sites in the affected counties reported 
significant damage, accessibility issues or unknown conditions, general 
counsel Paul Cox said. The state board is also working with emergency 
management officials to bring in temporary voting facilities, Bell told 
reporters on Monday.

One of the biggest changes in the resolution allows voters to turn in 
absentee ballots by 7:30 p.m. to Election Day polling places operated by 
their county elections board. Displaced voters may also turn in ballots to 
another county’s elections board by the same deadline. Previously, voters 
could only turn in absentee ballots to their county elections board or the 
state board on Election Day.

The resolution also expands opportunities to pick up an absentee ballot 
in-person from a county elections office until the day before the 
election.

Absentee ballot distribution already faced issues before Helene hit North 
Carolina. A legal battle over whether to include Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s 
name on ballots after he suspended his presidential campaign — which 
ultimately resulted in taking off his name and reprinting ballots — caused 
about a two-week delay in September.

With a bipartisan majority vote, county elections boards in the affected 
areas can approve several changes to Election Day polling locations. 
Measures that could be considered — which need approval from the state 
board’s executive director — include transferring voters to other in-
county precincts, creating out-of-precinct polling locations in other 
counties and establishing multiple voting locations within a precinct.

Similarly, those boards can also make changes to early voting sites 
affected by the storm. Those modifications can include adding new sites or 
removing ones that are inaccessible, as well as adjusting site hours.

Voters in the area must be notified of changes by mail, according to the 
resolution. Boards must also share the changes with local media, county 
political parties and on their county website.

To address a potential lack of poll workers, counties are authorized to 
select election officials from other counties who are registered to vote 
in North Carolina. Assistance teams may also be deployed to emergency 
relief shelters to help voters with absentee voting.

Despite calls from civil rights groups to extend voter registration 
deadlines in states impacted by Helene, the resolution didn’t include a 
measure to do so. That decision, along with possible adjustments to what 
the state board approved, will be left to the state legislature to 
consider when it reconvenes on Wednesday to pass disaster relief 
legislation. Bell said the state board has made a $2 million funding 
request to state lawmakers to support voting changes in the impacted 
counties.

North Carolina’s voter registration deadline is Friday.

South Carolina took action last week to extend its voter registration 
deadline to Oct. 14. In Georgia, elections officials have said they don’t 
anticipate major election disruptions from the storm. Florida is still on 
track for its Monday voter registration deadline, even with another major 
hurricane, Milton, expected to make landfall later this week.

In the coming weeks, Bell said the board may need to consider further 
actions as the affected counties continue to experience disruptions 
through Election Day.

https://apnews.com/article/hurricane-helene-north-carolina-voting-
election-2024-53cce0ee62fc257ff54fbd0ae59fa105

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North Carolina residents impacted by Helene likely to see some voting changes "P. Coonan" <nospam@ix.netcom.com> - 2024-10-07 20:32 +0000

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