Key swing states are facing a ‘daunting’ level of uncertainty after a storm battered several counties

By ALI SWENSON, CHRISTINE FERNANDO and JEFFREY COLLINS

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina election officials say they will do everything they can to ensure voters in the crucial presidential swing state will be able to cast their ballots despite the devastation of Hurricane Helene and the destruction of basic infrastructure only about a month before the November elections.

Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the state Board of Elections, said Tuesday that 12 county elections offices in the hard-hit western part of the state remain closed after the storm caused “unprecedented” damage. Absentee ballots, some of which have already been mailed to voters who requested them, also face obstacles, from delays at the U.S. Postal Service to damage to roads and homes that could make them undeliverable. The viability of voting locations for early voting and Election Day remains unknown, she said.

She described the storm as adding a “daunting” level of uncertainty, with early in-person voting on Oct. 17 set to begin in just over two weeks. Still, she said the state is prepared to help voters get through the emergency.

“We’ve weathered hurricanes and tropical storms and still had a safe election, and we’ll do everything in our power to do that again,” Brinson Bell told reporters on a media call. “Mountain people are strong, and the election people who serve them are also resilient and strong.”

Helene, which pummeled much of the Southeast late last week with heavy rain, high winds and massive storm surges along the Gulf Coast, caused “incredible” destruction in the popular mountain city of Asheville and other parts of western North Carolina, North Carolina Governor. Roy Cooper said this during a media briefing on Tuesday.

“This disaster is unlike anything our state has ever experienced,” he said.

The level of destruction could have far-reaching consequences beyond the direct damage to flooded communities, especially if it has any impact on voting. North Carolina is one of seven swing states hotly contested by Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, and former President Donald Trump, the Republican candidate. Trump narrowly defeated Democrat Joe Biden in the state four years ago, winning by about 74,500 votes out of 5.5 million cast.

Asheville is the most populous city in the 25-county region under a disaster declaration and is a Democratic stronghold. The counties surrounding it are largely Republican, so the ultimate impact on a statewide race, including a nationally watched battle for the governorship, is unknown.

On Tuesday, emergency responders were still conducting rescue efforts across the broad swath of the southeastern U.S. that bore the brunt of the storm. Election officials in Florida, Tennessee and the presidential battleground of Georgia were assessing the damage and potential impacts of mail-in voting, early voting and Election Day operations.

Election workers in Georgia are back to work, even as some offices face power outages and limited internet and infrastructure damage. Absentee ballots are scheduled to take place on Oct. 7, said Robert Sinners, communications director for Georgia’s foreign minister.

In North Carolina, officials said they are considering moving or combining voting locations if some are unusable or inaccessible.

Even more pressing, state officials are providing guidance and some special accommodations to absentee voters, who may not receive their ballots due to evacuations, suspended postal operations or mailboxes swept away by the storm.

Paul Cox, general counsel for the North Carolina State Board of Elections, said displaced voters can contact their county elections office to request that their absentee ballot be destroyed and sent to another location. They can also use the state’s BallotTrax service to track the location of their ballot.

Those voters also have the option to wait to cast their ballots in person, either during the early voting period from Oct. 17 to Nov. 2 or on Election Day, Nov. 5, Cox said. State law requires all voters to show their voter ID, but those who are from a county under a disaster declaration and have lost their ID can fill out an exception form so they can vote.

Officials are still weighing whether to take further steps to accommodate voters, such as extending the deadline for absentee voting or allowing more people to cast ballots through an online portal already used by military, foreign and visually impaired voters, Brinson Bell said.

The Postal Service said in a statement Monday that it is “still assessing damage and impacts” and is communicating with local election boards in affected areas to “ensure the continued transportation and delivery of election mail as soon as it is safe to do so to do. ”

Kelly Godfrey, who has lived in Asheville for more than three years, is one of the few voters who returned their ballots before the storm hit. In Buncombe County, which includes Asheville, nearly 9,990 voters had requested absentee ballots as of Tuesday — 85% of them Democrats or voters not affiliated with any party, according to Associated Press election research. Only about 170 had been returned.

Godfrey said she hopes rules and procedures will be adjusted to make it easier for voters displaced by the storm. She worries that any changes could lead to misinformation and false claims about voter fraud after the election.

“It will be played in many different ways,” she said.

But for now, voting “feels so far away,” Godfrey said. “Right now people are thinking about food and water.”

Brinson Bell said officials were not aware of any physical damage to the election offices or the voting equipment or ballots stored therein, but that they are in close contact with tabulation machine vendors in case any machines need to be repaired or replaced .

Some district administrations whose offices remain closed or are experiencing outages have received special emergency kits from the state, initially intended for use in the event of a ransomware attack, she said. The kits are equipped with laptops, mobile phones, Wi-Fi hotspots and other necessities to enable election operations even without power, telephone or internet.

Swenson reported from New York and Fernando reported from Chicago. Associated Press writers Charlotte Kramon in Atlanta and Gary Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina, contributed to this report.

Originally published: October 1, 2024 at 4:06 PM