Following the devastation of Hurricane Helene throughout mountain towns on the Appalachian trails and mounting concerns about voter disenfranchisement ahead of Election Day, the North Carolina State Board of Elections is changing their rules in an attempt to accommodate those displaced by the hurricane or left without access to major roads.
Former Obama advisor David Axelrod had predicted that the hurricane could benefit the Democratic presidential ticket, hypothesizing that suburban, left-leaning residents in Asheville would be “savvy” enough to create voting plans in spite of the devastation, while voters in rural counties that supported Trump in 2020 would not.
The Daily Caller reports:
The North Carolina State Board of Elections issued an emergency declaration Monday altering North Carolina’s voter procedures in response to the devastation from Hurricane Helene. North Carolina § 163‑27.1 vests the Board with emergency powers in the event of “a natural disaster” or “extremely inclement weather.” The declaration authorizes county election boards in 13 affected counties to take a “bipartisan majority vote” on several measures.
Among these measures are changing or adding early voting sites, as well as the time said sites are available for voters, and moving one voting precinct’s space to be adjacent to another while keeping the voting and tabulation materials separate. Provisions are also to be made by county boards for accepting absentee ballots from close family members and designated legal guardians for precinct residents unable to turn them in themselves.
Such absentee ballots can be turned in at the voter’s county up to 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time on the day of the election. Alternatively, they can also be received via other counties’ precincts as long as they were turned into the county election board or the State Board by that time and transferred to the board of the voter’s county the day prior to the county canvass. Provisions for spoilage and reissuing of a ballot as well as ballot curing are referenced.
Members of the State Election Board have touted the rule changes as necessary to prevent voter disenfranchisement, The Associated Press reported. Democratic Board Chairman Alan Hirsch said the Board was focused on meeting election deadlines while ensuring “no one is denied the right to vote because of these logistical problems.”
The counties hit hardest by Hurricane Helene went mostly for Trump in the previous presidential election, with the exception of Buncombe County — home to Asheville, North Carolina.
Former Obama advisor David Axelrod had predicted that the hurricane could benefit the Democratic presidential ticket, hypothesizing that suburban, left-leaning residents in Asheville would be “savvy” enough to create voting plans in spite of the devastation, while voters in rural counties that supported Trump in 2020 would not.
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