Helene Has Fouled Up Voting in North Carolina

Hurricane Helene has thoroughly messed with North Carolina's efforts to prepare for election day. Around 190,000 ballots were sent out in the battleground state in the week before the storm hit. Though officials have received no reports of ballot or voting equipment losses, per WVEC, it's possible some ballots have been destroyed in flooding, which is also causing delays in mail deliveries in the western part of the state, NBC News reports. Voters who don't receive a mail ballot, including those displaced by the storm, can request another be sent to a temporary address, but that requires contacting a local election office, and 14 of 22 county election offices were closed as of Monday, per Axios.

State residents can instead vote in person during early voting (Oct. 17 to Nov. 2) or on Election Day (Nov. 5). But whether voting by mail or in person, residents need to show photo ID and may now be unable to do so. For voters in the 25 counties under a disaster declaration, there's a workaround: They can fill out a Photo ID Exception Form, citing the "natural disaster" exception, per WVEC. Local election offices also hand out free voter photo ID cards for those without a driver's license or other acceptable photo ID, but again, many offices are closed and are likely to stay that way for "several more days," Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the State Board of Elections, said Monday.

Still, officials are "preparing themselves to serve all eligible voters," Brinson Bell said, noting election offices in counties without internet service would be provided with kits to allow workers to continue to register voters and process absentee ballot requests. "While we do not know exactly what is ahead, our guiding force between now and Election Day will be to do everything possible to ensure every eligible North Carolina voter can cast their ballot," she said. A website, ncsbe.gov/Helene, has been set up for residents who are searching for more information on how to vote. Election officials will also work to share printed materials in areas without cell service or internet access. (More North Carolina stories.)