By Stephanie Kelly
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – North Carolina election officials are scrambling to ensure the state’s more than 7 million registered voters can cast ballots in the upcoming presidential election, after flooding from Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc across the western part of the state.
North Carolina is one of seven “battleground states” expected to determine whether Republican Donald Trump or Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris will become the next president of the United States.
“The destruction is unprecedented, and this level of uncertainty so close to Election Day is disheartening,” Karen Brinson-Bell, executive director of the state Board of Elections, said Tuesday.
Twelve county election offices are closed in western North Carolina because of the storm, with the Oct. 11 voter registration deadline fast approaching, she said. But no voting equipment or ballots were damaged during the storm, she said.
The state expects to have a full assessment of the storm’s impact on election facilities and other issues by mid-week, she said.
The board has set up a website with Helene-related voting information, is working with the U.S. Postal Service to ensure receipt of absentee ballots and will continue to allow voters to register on-site with proof of address, she said.
Hundreds of homes have been destroyed in western North Carolina and residents displaced; some town and village centers were swept away by flash floods after the storm.
North Carolina is one of several states being targeted by Republicans with new restrictive voting laws. Democrats hope to push the state to back Harris in November, which would mark the first time North Carolina voters have backed a Democrat since 2008.
Asked whether the changes, unrest and uncertainty would affect people’s confidence in the election results, Brinson-Bell said the state would still rely on local polls and post-election verification checks, even if voters vote on a having to vote differently than normal.
“It’s not going to stop the way we run elections. Just because there was a hurricane, we might have to do it a little bit differently.”
(Reporting by Stephanie Kelly; Editing by Heather Timmons and Aurora Ellis)
