As rescue and recovery efforts continue after Hurricane Helene, North Carolina election officials are working to ensure voters affected by the storm can still cast their ballot in the 2024 general election.

State board of elections staff have contacted election officials in the affected counties in western North Carolina to make sure they are safe, to gather information on damage to election and voting facilities, and to assess potential effects on absentee and in-person voting.

Absentee voting is underway in North Carolina. In-person early voting begins Oct. 17 and ends Nov. 2. Election Day is Nov. 5.

“Our hearts go out to all North Carolinians affected by Hurricane Helene, including our neighbors, friends and colleagues in western North Carolina,”said Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the state board of elections. “When disasters strike elections, we use this mantra: ‘We do not stop an election; we figure out how to proceed.’

“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. Natural disasters have affected elections here in the recent past. As we did at those times, we will conduct a safe, secure and successful election in 2024.”

Information for voters

The state board has launched a special webpage, NCSBE.gov/Helene, as a source of information for voters affected by the hurricane. The webpage will include information on county board office closures, tips for voters affected by the storm and basic information about voting in this election. It will be updated routinely.

Election officials also will work to provide printed materials to voters in the affected areas who may not have cell phone service or internet access.

Storm victims with questions or concerns about how they will be able to vote are encouraged to contact their county board of elections or the State Board of Elections via email at elections.sboe@ncsbe.gov or by calling 919-814-0700. Please recognize that many county board offices in the affected counties are unable to reopen until utilities are restored, and therefore may be delayed in responding to calls, emails and other requests.

The state board will provide regular updates through media interviews, press releases, social media posts, and on its website at NCSBE.gov/Helene.

County board office closures

Many county boards of elections offices in western North Carolina are either closed or have limited accessibility due to power, phone and/or internet outages. See NCSBE.gov/Helene for county office information. The state board will provide special emergency kits to counties without internet service. These kits, basically “election offices in a box,” will allow county elections workers to continue election preparations, including registering voters and processing absentee ballot requests, as crews work to get power, phone and internet services restored.

State board emergency powers

under state law, the five-member, bipartisan State Board “in an open meeting, may exercise emergency powers to conduct an election in a district where the normal schedule for the elections is disrupted” by a natural disaster. At a meeting on Monday, the state board passed a resolution allowing the 25 counties in the Helene federal disaster area flexibility to reschedule meetings required by law to consider returned absentee ballots. These meetings were expected to start Tuesday in all 100 counties, but it may be impossible for some county boards to meet on Tuesday. Additional state board meetings may be called as necessary to consider other emergency measures.

Absentee voting

The U.S. Postal Service has informed election officials that mail delivery and operations are suspended at dozens of post offices in western North Carolina. Also, many residential mailboxes likely have been washed away by the storm. This, obviously, will have a significant impact on absentee voting in these parts of the state. Election officials will continue to monitor mail delivery and consider ways to make voting available in areas affected by Helene.

Here are tips and reminders for voters who planned to vote by mail in those locations:

• A voter who has requested an absentee ballot does not have to vote that ballot. They may simply discard it and vote in-person during the in-person early voting period or on Election Day.
• Voters displaced by the storm who plan to live elsewhere temporarily may request an absentee ballot and have it sent to their temporary address. The easiest way to request an absentee ballot is online through the North Carolina Absentee Ballot Portal. A voter who has already requested a ballot but will not be able to receive it at the address where it was set to be delivered should contact their county board of elections to spoil the original ballot and have a new one sent to their temporary location.

Damage to election offices, equipment, voting sites

At this time, election officials are not aware of any situations where voting equipment or printed ballots were lost or damaged. Assessments are ongoing. Details on changes to early voting sites or Election Day polling places will be released as soon as information is available. When voting sites are not available, options include moving or combining polling locations. All options will be considered by the State Board to ensure access to voting

Voter photo ID

State law requires voters to show an acceptable form of photo ID when voting in person and to include a photocopy of their photo ID with their ballot when voting by mail. Most people will show their driver’s license, but many other IDs are acceptable.

Under state law, a voter who cannot provide an acceptable form of ID when they vote may fill out a Photo ID Exception Form to explain why they cannot show ID. One of the permitted exceptions is for voters who are unable to provide ID because of a natural disaster that occurred within 100 days of an election and that resulted in a disaster declaration by the president of the United States or the governor of North Carolina. This means that voters in or from the 25 counties under a disaster declaration may use this exception to the photo ID requirement, if they are unable to show ID when voting because of the natural disaster.