Push continues to ensure voters in western NC can vote in the upcoming election should they choose

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- As rescue and recovery efforts continue in the western part of the state, the North Carolina Board of Elections outlined efforts its undertaking to ensure voting access.

"We are deploying special emergency kits. We call them ARKS -- attack response kits. They were designed around cybersecurity, but they have purpose in emergency situations of any kind. Election offices as we call them, there are three to four counties that we are deploying these to, so they can continue to work despite having internet and phone service issues," explained Karen Brinson Bell, Executive Director of North Carolina Board of Elections.

The US Postal Service informed election officials that its mail delivery and operations are suspended at dozens of post offices, with many residential mailboxes likely washed away by the storm.

"If a person is displaced, they can request an absentee ballot be delivered to their new location. So for example, if someone had to leave their home in one of the mountain counties, and has moved to another location in a different county or even in the same county, they can request that their absentee ballot be delivered to that new location," said Paul Cox, General Counsel for the North Carolina Board of Elections.

While photo identification is required to vote, a permitted exception for voters who are unable to provide ID is due to a natural disaster which occurs within 100 days of an election. Under state law, impacted voters can fill out a Photo ID Exception Form.

At this juncture, state elections officials are not aware of any damage to voting equipment or voting ballots which have been lost.

While a storm in this region of the state is largely unprecedented, North Carolina does have recent experience with a major storm during a presidential election year. In October 2016, Hurricane Matthew struck North Carolina, which led FEMA to designate several counties along the coast, as well as the central and eastern parts of the state, as disaster areas. According to data compiled by Catawba College Political Science Professor Dr. Michael Bitzer, voting rates in impacted counties were one percent lower than the rest of the state, with those areas seeing a slight uptick of in-person, election day voting.

"Typically voters are willing to adapt to voting a different method," said Dr. Bitzer.

While there is more time ahead of the election compared to Hurricane Matthew, the logistical challenges of the storm in the mountains presents separate considerations.

"We're talking about the potential of early voting sites no longer existing. We're talking about places on Election Day, precinct polling locations suffer being underwater and may not structurally be able to house voting equipment," said Bitzer.

"The single most important thing the General Assembly can do is do an emergency appropriation of funds to the various counties affected to assist in the election," said Bob Orr, a retired state Supreme Court Justice.

Monday, Senate President Phil Berger posted on X that the General Assembly is assessing a disaster recovery package.

Orr noted many local county boards of election already were facing a funding squeeze after being ordered to re-print ballots after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was removed from the ticket.

"It's almost incomprehensible. I know the election officials at the state level say even if it's a disaster, we move forward with the election. But they need the funding so that they can get additional equipment, (that) they can get people to polling places. Maybe they have to find new polling places, (but) that's going to cost money," said Orr.

He discussed the importance of establishing trust.

"We need both political parties to work together on the election process because what we don't want is after the fact on November 6th or November 7th or 8th, one major party or in one particular race (a candidate) saying, 'the people up here in the western part of the state didn't conduct the election correctly,'" said Orr.

While the final stretch of the campaign is typically full of door-knocking and canvassing, the political calculus is notably changed in such a situation.

"Certainly the campaigns have to recognize may be putting politics aside and saying, 'what can we do to help,'" said Bitzer.

"You have to be extraordinarily sensitive and understand that the last thing people in a community who've been hit by a disaster want is a politician asking for money or trying to play politics with the disaster. And I think the campaigns in both major parties understand that," added Orr.

The voter registration deadline is Friday, October 11.

Information for Affected Voters

The NCBOE has launched a special webpage, for voters affected by the hurricane.

Election officials said they will work to provide printed materials to voters in the affected areas who may not have cell phone service or internet access.

Storm victims with questions about voting are asked to contact their county board of elections or the State Board of Elections via email at elections.sboe@ncsbe.gov or by calling (919) 814-0700.

There could be delays in response as many county board offices in the affected counties are unable to reopen until utilities are restored.

The State Board said it will provide special emergency kits to counties without internet service. These kits, basically "election offices in a box," will allow county elections workers to continue election preparations, including registering voters and processing absentee ballot requests until services are restored.

At an emergency meeting on Monday, the NCBOE passed a resolution allowing the 25 counties in the Helene federal disaster area the flexibility to reschedule meetings required by law to consider returned absentee ballots. These meetings were supposed to start Tuesday in all 100 counties.

Absentee Voting Delays

Postal service is suspended at dozens of post offices in western North Carolina. Coupled with the fact that many residential mailboxes were washed away or damaged by Helene, there's likely a significant effect on absentee voting in the area.

Tips and reminders for areas affected by Helene

• A voter who has requested an absentee ballot does not have to vote that ballot. They may simply discard it and vote in person during the in-person early voting period or on Election Day.

• Voters displaced by the storm who plan to live elsewhere temporarily may request an absentee ballot and have it sent to their temporary address. The easiest way to request an absentee ballot is online through the North Carolina Absentee Ballot Portal. A voter who has already requested a ballot but will not be able to receive it at the address where it was set to be delivered should contact their county board of elections to spoil the original ballot and have a new one sent to their temporary location.