Hans von Spakovsky
We are less than a month away from Election Day as the hard-hit residents in the western part of North Carolina and the northern part of Georgia recover from the ravages of Hurricane Helene. What should officials in those states, and possibly others, be doing to protect their affected citizens’ right to vote?
North Carolina alone has almost 7.7 million registered voters, and about one-fifth of them, over 1.5 million, live in areas devastated by the storm. More than 800,000 people voted in the 53 affected counties in Georgia in 2020, about one-sixth of the state’s votes.
By now, county election officials in those states should have already assessed the situation, surveying polling locations to determine which ones have been damaged or destroyed so they can arrange for alternative facilities on Nov. 5.
Early voting sites should be open in all of the counties hit by Helene to accommodate voters who have lost homes and power. Local radio and TV stations should regularly broadcast complete lists of the locations of new polling and early voting sites to ensure voters are notified of the changes and afforded opportunities to vote.
The U.S. Postal Service has suspended delivery in some parts of those states and has announced that “full recovery of service” in the areas affected by Helene “may stretch forward for some time.” Given that problem and the current physical conditions in Georgia and North Carolina, individuals who requested but never received their absentee ballots due to storm damage should be encouraged to vote early in person and not wait for replacement ballots to be delivered. Those people voting in person who were sent absentee ballots should be required to either turn in those ballots or certify they were lost in the storm.
Given the combination of problems with mail delivery and physical damage to facilities, » Read More
https://www.heritage.org/election-integrity/commentary/how-states-can-protect-the-right-vote-hurricane-ravaged-areas