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By Natalie Venegas
Weekend Reporter
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North Carolina, a critical swing state, faces a "daunting" election as the state continues to grapple with unprecedented challenges brought by Hurricane Helene, according to an election official on Tuesday.
Helene made landfall last Thursday as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of around 140 miles per hour near Perry, Florida, in the state's Big Bend region. The storm brought fatalities across several southern and southeastern states with storm surges, devastating winds and torrential rain that threatened several dams and flooded Asheville, North Carolina. Days later, damage and devastation remain as North Carolina grapples with floodwaters.
Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, will face off against former president Donald Trump, the GOP presidential nominee, in the presidential election in just over a month.
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With early in-person voting set to start in just over two weeks, and absentee ballots already mailed to some voters, election offices across 12 counties in the hard-hit western part of North Carolina remain closed as election officials are working urgently to address the damage.
Karen Brinson Bell, the executive director of North Carolina's state board of elections, acknowledged the enormity of the situation as she warned the state faces a "daunting" election amid this "level of uncertainty" as viability of early and Election Day voting sites remains unknown.
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"The destruction is unprecedented, and this level of uncertainty, this close to Election Day is daunting," Brinson Bell said on Tuesday.
One obstacle for the election is that many voters displaced by the hurricane face challenges with postal services disrupted and some homes rendered inaccessible.
The Postal Service said in a statement Monday that it is "still assessing damage and impacts" and is communicating with local election boards in the affected areas to "ensure the ongoing transport and delivery of Election Mail as soon as it is safe to do so."
Paul Cox, general counsel for North Carolina's election board, urged displaced voters to contact their county offices if their absentee ballots become undeliverable to ensure no one is left out of the electoral process. Residents also can use the state's BallotTrax service to track their ballot's location.
Those voters also have the option of waiting to cast a ballot in person, either during the early voting period of October 17 to November 2 or on Election Day, November 5, Cox said. State law requires all voters to show 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 cast a ballot.
Meanwhile, officials are still weighing whether to take further steps to accommodate voters, such as extending the absentee ballot deadline or allowing more people to cast ballots through an online portal already used by military, overseas and visually impaired voters, Brinson Bell said.
Brinson Bell added that election officials will do "everything in our power" to hold safe and secure elections.
"We've battled through hurricanes and tropical storms and still held safe and secure elections, and we will do everything in our power to do so again," Brinson Bell told reporters during a media call. "Mountain people are strong, and the election people who serve them are resilient and tough, too."
In a battleground state already politically divided, the storm's impact could have far-reaching consequences. As one of seven swing states, North Carolina will play a key role in determining the result of this year's election due to the Electoral College, which awards each state a certain number of electoral votes based on population. A presidential candidate needs to secure 270 electoral votes for victory, and winning the national popular vote does not guarantee success.
In 2020, Trump narrowly edged out Democrat Joe Biden in North Carolina by just 74,500 votes out of 5.5 million cast—a slim margin that underscores the potential significance of any disruption to the upcoming election.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
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