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North Carolina Counties Hit Hardest By Helene To See Changes In Voting Rules
The North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) passed an emergency resolution to change voting rules in the counties hit hardest by Hurricane Helene.
“The NCSBE passed a resolution in a meeting Monday expanding the capabilities of voters affected by the storm to cast their ballot in this year’s election, as well as the ability for county boards of elections to process ballots,” The Federalist reports.
“WHEREAS, the State Board finds that the infrastructure for elections administration and voters’ accessibility to polling places and mail service in the following 13 counties remain severely disrupted as a result of the disaster and will continue to be so disrupted throughout the election: Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania, Watauga, and Yancey. These counties report that not all of their scheduled early voting sites or election day voting sites will be available due to damage from the storm, inaccessibility, the site’s current use for disaster response, or the likely unavailability of sufficient staff,” the resolution reads.
“Pursuant to G.S. § 163-27.1, by way of this resolution, the boards of elections for the 13 counties identified above are authorized to modify their early voting plans by bipartisan majority vote without a requirement for the State Board to approve those modifications. To approve any such modifications, the
county board must make written findings in a resolution that the modifications are required by the effects of the recent disaster and provide a copy of that resolution to the State Board,” it continues.
“Pursuant to G.S. § 163-27.1, by way of this resolution, voters registered in the same counties identified above, or their near relatives or verifiable legal guardians, may hand-deliver their completed absentee ballot to another North Carolina county’s board of elections office or the State Board office so long as it is received by 7:30 pm on Election Day. The county board office or State Board that receives such an out-of-county absentee ballot shall immediately date-stamp the absentee ballot envelope and shall ensure
that the ballots of such voters are delivered to the board of elections office for the voter’s county by the day before county canvass, either by trackable mail, commercial delivery service, or delivery by a staff member of the county board or State Board. The State Board or county board receiving the out-of-county ballot shall note the date, time, individual receiving the ballot, and individual delivering the ballot, as well as the affected county to which it will be sent, in a log. On Election Night, the receiving county shall report to the State Board the number of ballots received in such a manner for each affected county. If delivery to the voter’s county board is made by staff of the county board or State Board, transport of the ballots shall be in a sealed, secure container, with documentation of the chain of custody,” it adds.
WATCH:
North Carolina changes voting rules after hurricane and Mark Elias approves-what could possibly go wrong pic.twitter.com/q7EP8hBvu5
— Karli Bonne’ (@KarluskaP) October 9, 2024
The Federalist reports:
Improvements to election administration have been made over the last week, with NCSBE executive director Karen Brinson Bell noting that last week, 14 county offices in the area were unable to open, but now all offices are operational.
That being said, Bell noted that there are still significant challenges to administering an election in the region, and board member Stacy Eggers IV, a Republican and only member from western North Carolina, said that some areas received “20 inches of rain in less than about 36 hours” and that “we still have over 100,000 North Carolinians without power. Communication is significantly limited, and our roads remain in a crippled state.”
The resolution, passed by a unanimous vote of the board, allows for the 13 counties to alter early voting norms, such as locations and hours of operation, as well as move Election Day precincts to a different part of the county, or even outside the county, if infrastructure is inoperable in a normal voting location.
Jim Womack, president of the North Carolina Election Integrity Team, who has been very critical of the NCSBE’s Helene response, called the resolution “superb” in a statement to The Federalist, adding, “Couldn’t have written it better myself.”
Womack did, however, say that the resolution should have included a provision to allow out-of-state volunteers to add to displaced or otherwise incapacitated poll worker and poll observer staff.
The resolution allows for election officials and poll workers who registered voters in another North Carolina county to work precincts to make up for an anticipated shortage in the affected area.
North Carolina Elections Board Makes Emergency Voting Changes In Counties Hardest Hit By Helenehttps://t.co/uX95rWwSkH
— The Federalist (@FDRLST) October 9, 2024
North Carolina residents will see changes to early voting after Hurricane Helene https://t.co/FV5d2Mqiq0
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 8, 2024
Per Fox News:
On Monday, the North Carolina Elections Board passed a bipartisan emergency resolution that reformed the state’s early voting process in 13 counties. Notably, all except one, Buncombe, voted for former President Donald Trump in 2020.
The adjustments include changing or adding voting sites and maintaining their availability, extending the hours when a voting site is open, and adding or reducing days that any site is open within the early voting period, according to the election board.
Voters in these counties will also have more time to request an absentee ballot, with the deadline being Nov. 4.
President Trump won North Carolina in the 2020 election by roughly 1.4 percent.
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