Hurricanes Helene and Milton could impact how people vote in the upcoming election.
In North Carolina and Florida, the damage is severe and widespread. That's prompted officials in both states to approve changes to election administration.
In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order relaxing some of the state's election laws for impacted counties.
Some early voting locations or precincts are damaged or without power, forcing officials to move them to a new location. But in most cases, election leaders will try to keep things as normal as possible.
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"You can see this if you look at the North Carolina order from the state board of elections — where the election officials and the counties are directed to try to do everything they can, not to move polling sites, not to change hours, etc, but when they have to, they're authorized to do that," said David Becker, the executive director & founder of the Center for Election Innovation & Research.
The devastation caused by the storms could also impact mail-in ballots. Even with most states using ballot tracking technology, high winds or floodwaters could cause ballots to get lost or damaged in the mail. Impacted voters can typically ask for a replacement ballot or vote in person instead.
"Anyone who's requested a mail ballot nationwide, if they choose to vote in-person, they have an opportunity to," Becker explained.
He added it's very important for voters to know, "There is only one active ballot for any given voter, anywhere in the United States at any given moment in time. If a mail ballot has been sent out, that is coded in the voter file, and that voter either has to bring the ballot and surrender it in order to get a regular ballot, or they will have to vote a provisional ballot, which will only be counted if that [mail] ballot doesn't come in."
It's too early to know what impact, if any, the hurricanes will have on election turnout. But remember, four years ago during a pandemic, a record number of Americans cast a ballot — proving even in difficult circumstances, when Americans are motivated, they show up to vote.
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