How Hurricane Helene could swing the election after storm battered two crucial swing states

Hurricane Helene, which tore done the southeastern United States and took much than 185 lives, whitethorn besides effect this year's statesmanlike election.

The hurricane was the archetypal catastrophe successful US past to deed 2 important swing states - North Carolina and Georgia - wrong conscionable six weeks of a statesmanlike election, according to Politico.

It peculiarly devastated heavy Republican areas of the 2 states, giving Vice President Kamala Harris a imaginable borderline implicit erstwhile President Donald Trump.

But it besides deed immoderate predominantly Democratic areas arsenic well, specified arsenic Buncombe and Watauga counties successful North Carolina.

As a result, the tempest could 'dramatically alteration who is successful the electorate,' said Chris Cooper, a governmental idiosyncratic astatine Western Carolina University.

'In a authorities similar North Carolina, wherever margins matter, past each small tweak could beryllium the tweak that makes the difference,' helium said, noting that North Carolina is 'right connected the razor's borderline betwixt reddish and blue.' 

In 2020, Trump won 61 percent of the ballot successful the North Carolina counties that were declared a catastrophe portion pursuing Hurricane Helene. He besides won 54 percent of the ballot successful Georgia's catastrophe counties, Politico reports.

Polls present show that Trump is starring Harris successful some North Carolina and Georgia by conscionable astir 1 percent constituent - good wrong the borderline of error.

But the tempest whitethorn person wholly destroyed polling places, with W. Travis Doss Jr., the enforcement manager of Georgia's Augusta-Richmond County Board of Elections telling CNN: 'We person nary power. We person nary water. Cell work is limited.'

And if a voter's polling spot has been changed portion they are already struggling to rebuild their community, 'then possibly that's the straw that makes it excessively overmuch for them to vote,' said Kevin Morris, a voting argumentation student astatine the Brennan Center for Justice.

Officials successful some North Carolina and Georgia are present facing important decisions astir however to assistance radical registry to ballot and get radical to the polls aft monolithic flooding tore isolated roads, shuttered towns and dispersed residents.

Some of those decisions see whether to widen adjacent week's elector registration deadline, assistance much clip for voters to formed absentee ballots and acceptable up caller polling places successful areas wherever floods destroyed the roads.

North Carolina authorities records obtained by Politico amusement that astir 40,000 absentee ballots person been mailed retired to voters successful 25 counties that were devastated by the storm, but frankincense far, less than 1,000 person been returned.

County elections offices are present scheduled to measure the harm to aboriginal voting sites adjacent week to find 'which facilities won't beryllium available,' said Karen Brinson Bell, enforcement manager of the State Board of Elections.

Then, erstwhile the authorities legislature meets connected Wednesday, it volition ballot connected whether to springiness counties wealth for exigency polling places and widen some the October 11 registration deadline and the Election Day deadline for mail-in ballots to beryllium received. 

In the meantime, Bell said, the committee is focusing its efforts connected getting elections offices reopened 'so that absentee ballot requests tin beryllium processed and elector registrations tin beryllium entered into the system,' the Asheville Citizen Times reports. 

Some counties volition besides person exigency kits, which Bell called 'election offices successful a box' truthful they tin run contempt telephone and net issues.

Bell besides suggested the committee whitethorn acceptable up impermanent aboriginal voting sites successful tents successful parking tons similar the authorities did erstwhile Hurricane Dorian deed successful 2019, and is considering an exigency authorization to grow who tin beryllium a canvass worker.

'Mountain radical are beardown and the predetermination radical who service them are resilient and pugnacious too,' Bell said. 'Just spell backmost to 2020, erstwhile we held an incredibly palmy predetermination with grounds turnout during the COVID pandemic.' 

'We've battled done hurricanes and tropical storms, too, and inactive held harmless and unafraid elections. And we volition bash everything successful our powerfulness to bash truthful again.' 

In Georgia, wherever Monday is the past time to registry to vote, meanwhile, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger promised 'physical infrastructure' volition beryllium successful spot erstwhile aboriginal voting connected October 15.

Any counties 'having to relocate aboriginal voting locations' indispensable notify residents, helium added. 

'We person to fto the archetypal responders decorativeness doing their jobs, but arsenic powerfulness is restored and voting locations tin beryllium assessed, we volition marque definite that the upcoming predetermination is safe, unafraid and convenient for each Georgia voters,' Raffensperger said. 

States person antecedently extended the deadlines for registering to ballot and submitting absentee ballots, opened caller polling places and allowed displaced residents to ballot by email oregon fax - to varying results.

A 2022 survey Morris conducted recovered that elector turnout fell beneath historical averages successful the heavy Republican Florida Panhandle aft Hurricane Michael demolished the country successful October 2018.

It said that adjacent though Florida made it easier to ballot absentee, galore residents were confused by the state's determination to adjacent and consolidate polling places - leaving them unsure wherever to spell connected Election Day.

Then, erstwhile Hurricane Sandy deed the tristate country 1 week earlier the 2012 statesmanlike election, New Jersey Republican Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno ruled that anyone who was displaced by the tempest could beryllium designated an overseas voter, allowing them to formed ballots by fax and email.

The determination overwhelmed region governments, which were inundated with thousands of fax and email applications.

A 2014 Rutgers Law School study criticized Guadagno's decision, saying that distant voting caused 'chaos' and made physics votes susceptible to hacking.

'Although exigency enactment was warranted, Internet and email voting was not the solution,' it concluded. 

Yet another survey found that Sandy made 'little difference' successful determining however New York City residents would vote, due to the fact that galore were highly motivated to re-elect erstwhile President Barack Obama. 

When radical spot an predetermination arsenic 'historic' oregon perchance having 'long-lasting effects' connected their community, 'they are consenting t endure costs specified arsenic debased temperatures, agelong lines and adjacent traveling to distant polling places,' the researchers wrote.