Hurricane Helen poses new hurdles for voters and election officials in Georgia and North Carolina, threatening to disrupt the voting process in two of the most important battleground states.
Floods, storms and power outages are displacing residents, disrupting postal services and impacting election offices across the Southeast. This effect could complicate early voting and mail-in voting in some areas and discourage voters from voting.
Michael Morley, a law professor at Florida State University who has studied elections during natural disasters and other emergencies, said Herren “creates a new and unexpected barrier to voting.”
“This imposes an additional unanticipated burden on election administrators, places additional strain on election management systems, and requires election administrators to take urgent action.” [to] “We can mitigate the impact of hurricanes on elections overall and, more specifically, on people's ability to participate in elections,” Morley said.
Helen battered the Southeast last week with heavy rain, winds and flooding. The Associated Press reported Friday that the storm killed more than 200 people, with about half of the victims said to be in North Carolina. Many residents areStill no water or electricityRescue teams continued this week to rescue people stranded or missing in the wreckage.
“This destruction is unprecedented and this level of uncertainty so close to Election Day is unprecedented,” Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, said at a news conference Tuesday. It’s mind-boggling.”calling a stormIt shocked the Western Tar Heel State “like nothing I've ever seen in my lifetime.”
Approximately 17 percent of North Carolina's registered voters, or nearly 1.3 million voters, live in disaster areas declared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) late last month.According to the dataIt was compiled by Michael Bitzer, a professor of politics and history at Catawba College in California.
“Trying to conduct an election in a quarter of North Carolina's counties is going to be a huge undertaking,” Bitzer said. “We are at a critical moment in terms of holding elections, and it will take a lot of effort to figure out how to make them happen.”
According to the North Carolina State Board of Elections, several election offices in the affected areas were still closed as of Thursday morning. As the Oct. 11 deadline to register to vote approaches, some absentee ballots that were mailed during the hurricane may have been lost or damaged.
But North Carolina election officials have expressed confidence in the face of the crisis. The state fully intends for all counties to begin early voting as scheduled.October 17thSome of the inaccessible or damaged sites may need to be moved or consolidated, Pat Gannon, director of communications for the state commission, told The Hill.
Gannon said voters can check the status of their vote by contacting their local office. Additionally, if a ballot appears to be lost, North Carolinians can request a replacement, and the state's election system will ensure that only that ballot is counted. Individual counties are also assessing poll worker needs amid the evacuations, and offices are making plans to fill the gaps.
“At the very least, the county and the board of elections, election officials and staff know that it's up to them to make sure the voices of voters are heard, so they're going to do their best,” Bitzer said. However, “potential creativity” may be needed in the coming weeks.
More than 20 people are believed to have died in Georgia as a result of the storm.According to the Savannah Morning News.somerural areaAreas near the Florida-Georgia border have been hit hard and may take longer to rebuild than other urban areas.
The Secretary of State's Office began preparing for potential disruption before the storm made landfall, and preparations are proceeding as planned, Director of Public Affairs Robert Sinners told The Hill. Early voting begins in the Peach StateOctober 15th.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger said this week that no election offices suffered long-term damage.his office was workingThis is to ensure the safety of election officials and the functionality of equipment.
“We need first responders to finish their jobs, but now that power has been restored and polling places can be evaluated, the next election will be safe for all Georgia voters,” Raffensperger said. “We want to make it safe, secure, and convenient.”
But even if states' election systems are able to weather the storm, Helen could be a hindrance to voters on their way to the polls. For some, destroyed roads and homes mean a physical barrier, while others may simply not have time to think about the election as they deal with the aftermath.
For example, in Georgia,Voter registration deadlineTammy Greer, a professor of policy and political science at Georgia State University, said making sure she checked it off her to-do list likely isn't a top priority for Americans grappling with Helen's destruction.
At the same time, some say the crisis could actually motivate voters in affected states and other regions.
“When you consider damage, recovery, food, water and shelter, the fundamental idea comes back to elected officials,” Greer said. “So when you're voting or you're registering to vote…it may not be the top line, but it's still a through-flow. It's consistent from the response to the hurricane to how long it's going to take to recover. is.”
Although Helen brought unique devastation, Election Day “always falls during hurricane season” in the South, Greer noted. He emphasized that the system is strong and that affected voters can make their voices heard if they wish to vote, despite new hurdles.
North Carolina and Georgia are both key battlegrounds in the race between Vice President Harris and former President Donald Trump, and observers say Herren's disruption could derail the tight race. .
Trump's approval rating in both states is only a few percentage points, according to the latest average of Decision Desk HQ/The Hill polls. In Florida, Trump rose 2% as Democrats became more optimistic about a reversal and were influenced by Herren.
Both North Carolina and Georgia could be decided by a small number of voters, and any obstacles that keep voters from voting could tip the scales. Trump won both states in 2016 and North Carolina in 2020, but Biden won Georgia.
One of the areas hardest hit by the storm was Asheville, North Carolina, a Democratic stronghold.data suggestsThe counties in the state affected by Helen are dominated by independent registered voters and Republican voters.
John Gasper, an associate professor of economics at Carnegie Mellon University, said that when a major disaster occurs, incumbents can be “punished at the polls” for issues outside of their control, but disasters are widespread. It could serve as a “good exogenous test of leadership,” he said. Politicians and officials alike, Gasper said, and a strong reaction could mean being rather “rewarded” at the voting booth.
Trump and Harris have been touring the Southeast in recent days, as has President Biden. The White House provided $45 million in aid and sent thousands of personnel to help with the recovery.
“Elections are just one aspect of the recovery process. Efforts to restore power and save lives are of course just as important, if not more important, in the immediate aftermath of a disaster.” Morley said.
