Hurricane Helene’s Impact on North Carolina’s 2024 Election

Hurricane Helene’s aftermath could disrupt voting in the 2024 election for North Carolina residents, leaving election officials scrambling to address the impact in a crucial swing state.

Experts are concerned that the storm could reduce voter turnout, disrupt ballot delivery, or hinder accurate polling in a state with close margins.

“It’s going to be more difficult for people to vote,” says Jason M. Roberts, a political science professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. “And, frankly, given the challenges these people are facing, voting is likely going to be much lower on their list of priorities than it normally would be.”

State officials implemented emergency measures on Monday to make it easier for disaster victims to cast their ballots. The bipartisan North Carolina State Board of Elections in 13 counties where infrastructure, access to polling places, and postal services are likely to remain disrupted through the election, the board’s Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell said in a press conference. Some of the changes include allowing county boards of elections to change and Election Day voting locations with a bipartisan majority vote, recruiting more poll workers, and allowing voters to drop off their completed absentee ballots at any county board of elections office by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day.

“This disaster isn’t just affecting how we conduct elections; it’s impacting daily life, and many of these communities will be without power, without water, without internet, without cell service, potentially for weeks,” Bell said. “Our goal is to figure out, as long as there are citizens in those communities, how do we provide them with voting opportunities so that they can exercise their right to vote?”

The state’s voter registration deadline remains Oct. 11 and early voting will still begin on Oct. 17, as scheduled. All 100 of the state’s county boards of elections are currently open to the public, Bell said. 

Helene in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane on Sept. 26. While it was as it moved through the U.S., it swept through the Southeast, causing . The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s in North Carolina includes more than 20 counties in the western part of the state. About half of the roughly 227 people who died due to the storm were in North Carolina, according to . 

Roberts says the measures that the North Carolina State Board of Elections implemented will help address some of the challenges posed by the natural disaster. But he notes that those changes might not be sufficient, expressing concern that the barriers caused by Helene could reduce voter turnout in a state that has seen some close races in recent elections. A new released by High Point University on Thursday found that Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump were tied, with both receiving 48% of the vote from likely North Carolina voters.

The storm may have damaged some polling places, or the locations may be inaccessible due to damaged infrastructure. Other sites may no longer be available for voting because they may need to be used for emergency response purposes. There were 40 early voting sites scheduled to be set up in the 13 counties that will be affected by the emergency measures approved by the North Carolina State Board of Elections, according to board spokesperson Patrick Gannon. However, it’s not yet clear how many of those locations will still be available as voting sites, Bell said. Some citizens may have lost identification documents in the storm, which could create additional voting difficulties, and the state board of elections has updated information about what to do in that situation.

Even residents who planned to vote before Election Day may struggle to cast ballots. The storm the U.S. Postal Service’s operations in parts of North Carolina, which could prevent people from receiving their mail-in ballots, according to Roberts. And because many people—voters and poll workers alike—have been displaced by the storm, some may not prioritize participating in the election.

While depressed voter turnout could have a significant impact on a presidential race that is essentially tied, the storm may also have made it more difficult to obtain polling data in the first place. The lack of , , and in some regions could affect pollsters’ ability to gather accurate data. Martin Kifer, director of High Point University’s Survey Research Center, says that pollsters will have to pay close attention to ensure that the data being collected is a representative sample.

At the press conference Monday, Bell urged people to rely on credible sources for information as they develop a voting plan for November. “I want to make sure that these people are safe from the storm,” she said, “and able to exercise their right to vote through this.”