When Cliff Marr, elections director for Polk County in western North Carolina, learned that voters were stranded in a remote area, he knew he had to help. With no way for these residents to get to the local election office after Hurricane Helene destroyed the only bridge connecting their community to schools, firefighters and other basic infrastructure, Marr decided to go there give back. Carrying about 100 absentee ballot applications, he drove to where the bridge once stood, walked down to the riverbank, crossed a wooden plank bridge and climbed a makeshift 40-foot scaffolding. feet on the other side. Marr plans to return once the applications are completed and make the trip twice after that.

Marr isn’t the only one determined to ensure eligible voters in the mountain region can still cast their ballots. The hurricane made landfall in North Carolina three weeks before early voting began and just over a month before Election Day. damaging more than 126,000 homes and exit 13,000 without electricity. In interviews, election officials and voters across the state’s west described how, amid extraordinary challenges, they are all facing a transformed election landscape and are stepping up efforts to make the election run as smoothly as possible possible.

“We don’t know how much of a recovery there will be between now and November, but I know they’re doing everything they can to determine that every precinct will have a place to vote, even if they put up big tents,” said Joy. Boothe, who voted on the first day of early voting in Yancey County, located northeast of Asheville.

An inclusive democracy requires elasticity of its electoral systems when natural disasters – even those of “biblical“proportions – strike. Despite the impact of the hurricane, voters in Western North Carolina will have several ways to vote in the upcoming election. This is partly due to long-standing election laws and policies. It is also the result of the approval of state representatives bipartisan changes giving voters more options and election officials more flexibility. In addition to Funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency For disaster-stricken counties, state lawmakers allocated $5 million to the state election board for voting in the region.

Existing infrastructure strengthens North Carolina’s defenses

Long before Hurricane Helene, North Carolina election rules and policies included safeguards to ensure voters could cast their ballots if problems arose. The state allows multiple voting options. In addition to Election Day voting, North Carolina has allowed no-excuse absentee voting for decades and implemented in-person early voting nearly 20 years ago.

Additionally, resilience is built into these processes. The week before the storm arrived, local elections officials sent a letter 190,000 postal ballots. Voters can track the status of their ballots to help identify any mail delays that may be caused by damaged or destroyed mailboxes and postal facilities. If they suspect a delay, they can request a replacement. Counties are finding that replacement ballots are requested due to the surprising number of ballots damaged due to moisture. Displaced voters are requesting that absentee ballots be sent to their temporary residence. The state is allowing voters who lost their photo ID due to the storm to submit an exemption form. Voters in affected counties returned more than 15,000 absentee ballots during the first week of early voting.

In-person early voting is also underway despite some disruptions to normal operations. Of the 80 early voting sites planned across the 25 counties in the declared disaster area, only four in Buncombe County, where Asheville is located, were unable to open. Two counties are expected to add early voting sites. Voters, too, are finding ways to get to the polls. On the first day of early voting, North Carolinians cast more than 353,000 ballotssurpassing the previous state record, set in 2020. Western North Carolina voters cast more than 225,000 in-person ballots during the first days of early voting.

“I think my county government is doing everything it can within the parameters it has to meet to give everyone the opportunity to vote,” said Matthew Baetzhold, a Buncombe County voter. After learning that his usual polling place was closed, Baetzhold voted early at his local library.

Election officials and poll workers continue to prioritize ensuring that every eligible person in their county can vote, even as recovery efforts continue. Boothe, the Yancey County voter, said her community is “going through the worst of life through the loss of friends, lives, homes.” She began observing elections in her local constituency.

“We hug and cry for a few minutes, then move on. We just keep going,” Mary Beth Tipton, director of the Yancey County Board of Elections, told us of her commitment to keeping the election process running.

“You don’t take my voice”

Facing unprecedented devastation across half the state, the North Carolina State Board of Elections and the state Legislature implemented emergency measures in the counties most affected by the hurricane. These measures are crucial to overcoming the obstacles facing local election officials and voters who are still recovering. Among the changes, local authorities can designate alternative or “out-of-precinct” polling locations (including in another county), adjust the days and hours of early voting locations, and allow voters to return ballots by mail. correspondence in counties other than where they voted. live.

The state board “always asks what do you need,” said Joseph Trivette, deputy director of the Avery County Board of Elections.

Emergency resolutions provide a lifeline for voters and election officials, many of whom have lost their homes or are temporarily displaced. “You may have taken my house, you may have taken everything I have, but you’re not taking my voice,” Tipton said. These efforts were not in vain. Yancey County is one of 22 counties in Western North Carolina that saw record turnout during the first days of early voting.

The resolutions expand options for returning completed absentee ballots. They allow voters in affected counties to immediately request and receive absentee ballot materials in person rather than waiting for them in the mail. For Marr, the possibility of delivering postal voting materials “over the counter” is essential. “The whole community benefits,” he said.

While many residents are unsure where they will live temporarily or when they will be able to return home, this option gives them the certainty of being able to vote. Upon receiving the materials, some voters mark their ballot in the parking lot and immediately return it to the election office, according to Tipton. Counties are also authorized to commission multi-party assistance teams, which traditionally assist voters with disabilities living in care facilities, to extend their application and absentee ballot assistance to displaced voters. Voters in affected counties have until November 4 at 5 p.m. to request an absentee ballot.

The emergency measures also provide more flexibility for voters on Election Day. Disaster victims can vote at “central transfer precincts,” sites that will allow any eligible voter in the county to receive and vote.

“Flexibility is key,” said Matt Snyder, director of the Watauga County Board of Elections. In some counties, “the National Guard sleeps at night in the same place where you vote,” he added.

Officials we spoke with sought to keep polling places in affected precincts close to their original locations. In some areas, consolidating districts was the only option, but counties committed to informing voters of the necessary changes.

Additionally, the Legislature’s $5 million in emergency funding, along with federal aid, is being used for election-related communications, such as mailing voter education materials, as well as improving technology and internet access for county boards of elections, hiring temporary workers. election staff and obtain the necessary resources to facilitate in-person voting.

As Election Day approaches, these election officials and voters show no signs of hesitation.

“We are so united in grief and recovery,” Boothe said of his community in the aftermath of the hurricane. “There’s been a lot of effort here (to make sure) people know when, how and where to vote.”

For questions about voting, call 866-OUR-VOTE. For hurricane-related assistance, call the Federal Emergency Management Agency hotline at 800-621-3362.

Arlyss Herzig contributed to the research.