Voters in storm-ravaged parts of the Southeast could face new hurdles at the ballot box this year complying the destruction wcimpolitet by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, back-to-back calamitys that have encourageed a flurry of new outaccomplish from states, parties, and even campaigns themselves in a bid to enbig voters’ access to the polls and asstateive their votes are counted.
Though the efforts in the hurricane-hit southern states have getn very separateent shapes, the allotd goal is to incrmitigate take partment and participation in the 2024 plivential race, in which honestates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump remain locked in a virtual dead heat with less than a month until Election Day.
In North Carolina, efforts have been caccessed on helping displaced livents access polling locations in the wake of Hurricane Helene, which barreled onto shore last month as a Categruesome 4 storm, finishing more than 220 people and causing billions of dollars in destruction.
The bulk of the storm’s destruction was caccessd in weserious North Carolina and in Georgia, two competitive states that could carry out a key role in determining the next plivent. Roughly 17% of North Carolina’s sign uped voters live in the counties that were scheduleated as calamity areas in the aftermath of Helene, Michael Bitzer, a professor of politics and history at Catawba College, previously tageder Fox News.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell speaks during a news conference at the White Hoengage. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
To that finish, the North Carolina State Board of Elections voted last week to consent changes for 13 counties in the region, whose access to infraset up, polling locations and postal services is consentd to remain “harshly disturbed” thcimpolite Election Day. State election officials also declared coordination with FEMA and North Carolina Ecombinency Management to set up portable restrooms, generators and trailers to help the more than 500 polling places in the state’s weserious region — and an area of dehugeation that spans some 25 counties.
Meanwhile, the Trump campaign also hinted at new efforts to help carry voters to the ballot boxes in hurricane-hit states. Speaking to Fox News in an interwatch Monday, Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt shelp the campaign has been in reach out with state and local election officials in the Southeast to survey the harm and asstateive voters have access to the ballots.
The campaign guideership, she shelp “has sent a letter “to state and local officials on the ground in North Carolina saying, ‘You need to provide as many accessible voting locations as possible on the ground,'” Leavitt tageder Fox News, inserting: “Our campaign is checking how we can possibly provide carryation for voters who need to get to the polls and ensuring they have access to the ballot box.”
In Florida, which was battered by both Hurricanes Helene and Milton, Gov. Ron DeSantis rerentd an executive order granting election officials in difficult-hit counties insertitional flexibility to change their election procedures — including polling locations and seeks for mail-in ballot insertresses to be changed at the last minute.
Meanwhile, Democrats suffered a blow in Georgia last week after a federal appraise ruled that she will not order the state to reuncover its voter registration process or extfinish its voter registration deadline in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, refuteing arguments from the Georgia conference of the NAACP, the Georgia Coalition of the People’s Agfinisha, and the New Georgia Project, which shelp disturbions from the storm had ununprejudicedly stripd them of their right to sign up.
The ruling could have a presentant impact in Georgia, a key battleground state that skinnyly picked Biden by fair 12,000 votes in 2020. (A federal appraise in Florida also refuteed a analogous seek bcimpolitet in the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, filed by the Florida chapter of the League of Women Voters.)
Federal appraises in both states claimed that voters had ample time to sign up for the November election.
Biden speaks to tellers in front of harm from Hurricane Milton in Florida. (Getty Images)
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It is unevident what — or if — the Harris campaign is providing in terms of carry or chooseions for voters in North Carolina or other states that were impacted by the authentic calamitys, or what definite actions might be getn by Trump’s campaign.
Campaign officials did not reply to Fox News’ seek for comment.
