In Western North Carolina, county elections officials need Porta Potties.
Tropical Storm Helene caused catastrophic flooding in the region, which destroyed homes, buildings and roads; cut off communication lines, and killed at least 77 people in the state as of Oct. 8.
But as Western North Carolinians come to terms with the tragedy’s aftermath, elections officials do not have time to spare. The voter registration deadline is Friday, Oct. 11. Early voting begins in a little over a week, on Oct. 17. Many absentee ballots were already in transit when the storm hit.
Elections officials need to find replacements for the polling places that have been completely destroyed or are otherwise unusable, communicate any changes to voters despite spotty Internet and phone connections and re-issue absentee ballots to voters whose ballots were lost or destroyed in the storm — all while taking care of their normal pre-election duties, like training poll workers and conducting absentee ballot meetings.
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Many elections officials say they need portable toilets, since some early voting sites may be in facilities that no longer have working sewage.
“There’s going to be long lines, and the workers are there for hours and hours, and that just seems like a need and something that’s very hard to come by right now, believe it or not,” Western North Carolina Field Support Specialist John Noce said.
Noce provides day-to-day elections support to 17 counties in the region. He covers 10 of the 27 counties where a major emergency declaration was issued after Tropical Storm Helene.
He said the biggest challenge in the counties he covers is assessing which precincts will be available for voting on Election Day, and which need to be moved. But despite any obstacles, Noce said counties in the region have rallied and bounced back.
“Even if they were closed to the public, they’re behind the scenes doing their L&A testing, they’re sending out ballots, they’re processing registrations,” he said. “Early voting and Election Day are going to go off as scheduled. The show must go on.”
Emergency elections measures for 13 counties
State Board Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell said no county boards of elections offices were compromised, meaning all voting equipment and ballots are dry and secure. But county elections officials are facing other obstacles.
After gathering input from impacted counties and gathering data from emergency management officials, the State Board of Elections staff presented proposed emergency measures for the Board’s approval on Monday, Oct. 7.
Under state law, the Board of Elections has the authority to institute emergency measures to make sure people can vote under a normal schedule, with the same opportunity as voters in other counties in case of a natural disaster like Tropical Storm Helene.
Monday, the board unanimously passed a number of emergency measures, covering early voting, Election Day, poll workers and absentee voting.
They apply to the 13 counties where election infrastructure, voting site accessibility and disruption in the postal service and transportation remains “severely disrupted by Tropical Storm Helene.”
They are Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania, Watauga and Yancey counties.
Members of the State Board were clear that the election would go on as scheduled, in all 100 counties.
“We will continue to make voting accessible to the voters, whether we need four-wheelers, horses or helicopters,” Board Member Stacy Eggers said.
Eggers, a Republican who lives in the impacted region, said he was normally hesitant to make election changes, but considered the measures “a necessary step.”
“This is unprecedented amounts of damage and destruction that’s been caused by this storm,” he said.
“Not only has it resulted in loss of life and personal property, but it has severely damaged the road systems, water systems and communication systems up here in the high country.”
Early voting
The emergency measures allow county boards of elections to change, add or remove early voting sites, as well as add or reduce days and hours a site is open within the established early voting period.
To do so, there must be a bipartisan majority vote. In five-member county boards of election with three Democrats and two Republicans across the state, this means that at least three members, including at least one Democrat and one Republican, must approve a change for it to occur and before local elections officials can take action.
Eggers said the bipartisan majority is a key element of the emergency measures.
“A change is not going to be a Republican change or Democrat change,” he said.
Most early voting sites aren’t impacted, since a lot of smaller counties use the county elections office for early voting, Noce said. It’s more of a question of whether voters can make it to the polls with cut off areas and transportation challenges.
In Ashe County, the county courthouse complex where early voting is held is fine, Ashe County Elections Director Devon Houck said. In Avery and Polk counties, the original location still works. In McDowell County, an early voting site had to be moved, but it’s “taken care of” thanks to the State Board’s emergency measures, county elections director Kimberly Welborn said.
Election Day voting
Ashe County originally had six precincts for Election Day. During the storm, one building moved off its foundation, and another was completely lost.
Another one is likely unusable, but they’ve got a good backup for it, election director Houck said. They’re still trying to assess the viability of the other three.
In Haywood County, elections director Robert Inman said some polling sites are no longer available. Their options are “limited,” he said, with the supply and viability of county-owned facilities.
The State Board’s emergency measures allow for some Election Day changes.
With a bipartisan majority vote, county boards may alter Election Day precinct voting sites by transferring voters from one precinct to another in the same county, or establish voting places in a neighboring county, if necessary.
If multiple precincts are combined into one polling place, the materials, tabulators and voting processes for each precinct will remain separate within the site.
County boards may also establish more than one voting location per precinct, or allow any voters in the county to use a central transfer precinct if they accidentally end up at the wrong polling sites.
County boards of election must mail notice of changes to affected voters, as well as reach out to local media and county political parties to disseminate the news. They will post notice of changes at disaster shelters and other relief sites.
Inman said elections officials have no choice but to take advantage of these measures. “They have made it a lot easier for us to do,” he said.
Avery County lost 14 of its 19 precincts, county elections director Sheila Ollis said.
However, after the emergency measures passed, she met with the county manager, emergency management officials and some county commissioners to work out a plan.
Now, Ollis said Avery County will consolidate Election Day voting among 10 precincts, as long as the site owners and the county board approve. The sites have plenty of parking, heating and bathrooms, and she won’t need as many poll workers.
If someone goes to the wrong polling site, Ollis said Avery elections officials plan to have a transfer tabulator in the elections office to send their ballot to the correct precinct.
Ollis said she was excited and proud of the plan the county has put into place. They’re using the county’s communication services to call, email and text people about the changes, as well as utilizing local press.
McDowell County has to move two precincts, but the emergency measures will make it easier, Welborn said.
“We’re so thankful,” she said. “Being able to change these facilities if we need to, without all the extra red tape, that just really helps us and helps us be able to do our job and do it for the citizens.”
Polk County elections director Clifford Marr said the most helpful measure for voters and elections officials there is the one allowing voters to come to the county board of elections office on Election Day to vote as if it were their precinct.
“If people are having trouble getting to their polling location, or they don’t know where it is and they’re confused, they’re going to show up here,” he said.
“And instead of them sending them away to a different location or whatnot, we’re going to be able to take care of them right then on Election Day.”
Poll workers
Inman in Haywood County is worried about his precinct officials. As members of the community whose homes and lives may have been devastated by the storm, how many are still available, and in which areas?
He hasn’t been able to contact all of them yet, due to communication issues.
Welborn has reached most poll workers, but McDowell County’s poll worker training was delayed by a week, she said.
The State Board implemented emergency measures to aid in poll worker and precinct official staffing, if planned workers can no longer serve because of the storm.
County boards of election may appoint elections officials who are registered voters of other North Carolina counties to serve in their place during early voting and on Election Day, with a bipartisan majority vote.
They may also reassign poll workers to locations they weren’t originally assigned, “to ensure there is sufficient knowledge and experience at each voting site,” according to the emergency measures.
Field support specialist Noce said he doesn’t think it will necessarily be required in most counties.
“My impression of the mountain counties is that people are going to roll up their sleeves and do what needs to be done,” he said.
“But it is comforting to know that if there is a shortage due to poll workers that are displaced, that they could use outside help.”
Houck said only a few poll workers have called in to say they can’t work, so it will likely be more of a shift between precincts, and not bringing in people from outside Ashe County.
Marr said Polk County plans to hire from outside the precinct.
“We’ve even had a volunteer from Mecklenburg County — she has family up here — who now we are going to use, whereas the law would not have allowed us to use them earlier,” he said.
The mail and absentee ballots
As of Oct. 6, the 25 impacted North Carolina counties had sent out 41,255 absentee ballots, according to the State Board of Elections. Just over 2,000 had been returned, while nearly 39,000 remained outstanding.
Marr said the Polk County Board of Elections is working with the county to identify where cut off populations are so they can make sure there’s some way they can help them vote, with road closures and uncertain mail delivery when houses and mailboxes have been washed away.
“The post office itself is operating pretty normally, but they can’t guarantee that any individual address is accessible,” he said. “We have yet to receive any ballots back undeliverable, but it’s still very early in the process.”
In McDowell County, a couple of voters have contacted elections officials and said their original absentee ballot was wet and muddy because of the storm. The county is re-issuing new ballots to those people, as well as those who no longer have a mailbox or who are at a different address.
Under the approved emergency measures, the State Board established several changes to the absentee ballot process.
First, voters, their near relatives or verifiable legal guardians can request an absentee ballot in person at their county board of elections office until the day before the election. The voters themselves must still fill out their absentee ballot, but their relatives or guardians can bring it to them.
Second, voters, their near relatives or legal guardians can cancel a previous absentee ballot, which may have been destroyed in the storm, get a new ballot re-issued and pick up any documentation needed to fix a deficient absentee ballot in person at the county board of elections office. The office will record a log of these transactions.
Third, voters may turn in completed absentee ballots at Election Day voting sites. Previously, they could only be accepted at early voting locations.
Fourth, if absentee ballots are returned to another county board of elections or the State Board by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day, and received by the correct county board of elections by the day before the county canvass, they will count.
All of these transactions will be recorded, and each week, county boards will report to the State Board how many absentee ballots they’ve received that were intended for another county.
Marr said the in-person absentee ballot transactions allow them to eliminate any post office delivery issues, while speeding up the process.
Ollis said the absentee ballot requests have not slowed down in Avery County.
“It’s really working well, and the Postal Service is working well with us,” she said. “They’re just doing everything they can to help us. So it’s really a team effort, and we’re working ourselves to death to get all the requests in.”
USPS has been a topic of misinformation in Western North Carolina.
Field support specialist Noce noticed rumors of mail being suspended in Western North Carolina swirling around. That was never the case, he said.
While some facilities can’t operate at their normal capacity due to road conditions, they are attempting “every reasonable, safe delivery where possible,” according to the latest USPS update.
Inman also took note of the misinformation.
“Honestly, people need to be much more selective in where they get their information that they honestly and truly believe,” he said.
“Fantasy land, to me, doesn’t exist right now. I don’t have time for that nonsense, none at all. Politics doesn’t come into play. It’s just accomplishing things, but putting out there that the Postal Service is going to close, that’s irresponsible.”
Western Carolina University Political Science Professor Chris Cooper said the region is a “petri dish” for misinformation, since information is coming in incrementally and it’s harder to fact check or see the bigger picture.
While misinformation thus far has mostly focused on relief efforts, Catawba College Politics Professor Michael Bitzer said it could definitely extend into elections.
“If they’re willing to engage in disinformation about relief and recovery efforts, they are more than willing to sabotage election information and trust,” he said.
NC legislature to vote on relief package
The North Carolina General Assembly will meet Wednesday, Oct. 9, in a previously scheduled session.
In a joint statement, Senate Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, and House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, said the legislature would vote on an initial disaster relief package during the session.
“We are still working to determine what needs to be included in that legislation. Our thoughts and prayers remain with the victims of this storm and those who have lost loved ones, as well as the aid workers, volunteers, and rescue teams supporting the region,” the statement read.
Brinson Bell said the State Board requested about $2 million in elections funding after Tropical Storm Helene.
Marr said Polk County and other counties in the region need funding for postage and signs to communicate election changes to voters. They have to send letters to every impacted voter, which is around 6,000 voters in Polk County.
Political implications of Helene
Western North Carolina is a Republican stronghold, with a few exceptions. In 2020, 24 of the 27 counties impacted by Tropical Storm Helene voted for former President Donald Trump, almost all by at least 20-point margins.
Buncombe, Watauga and Mecklenburg counties were the only outliers within the disaster area that voted for President Joe Biden.
Overall, there were 1.2 million registered voters in the 27-county region — 38% registered Republicans, 23% registered Democrats and 38% unaffiliated voters — as of Oct. 6.
The numbers might suggest that the storm hurts Republicans’ chances in North Carolina elections, if fewer people turn out. Cooper said it’s not that simple, because all 27 counties may not be impacted equally.
“Regionally, yes, you would think lower turnout would benefit (Vice President Kamala) Harris, but if Buncombe ends up making up a larger proportion of the displaced voters, then it may actually be a better thing for Trump,” Cooper said.
Also, lower turnout is not a given. Bitzer said turnout depends on how counties use the flexibility granted to them by the State Board’s emergency measures.
“I’m aware of one study that was done in New Orleans after Katrina, and when election administrators provided greater convenience and flexibility and the campaigns also helped to publicize and get the word out, voters did respond positively and had as decent turnout rates as can be expected,” he said.
After past North Carolina hurricanes in 2016 and 2018, there were slight 1 to 2 percentage point drops in turnout in impacted counties, compared to the state overall, Bitzer said.
“But that was several years ago, and in the eastern portion of the state,” he said. “We just don’t know what the dynamics are going to be in the western part.”
If the same turnout drop were to happen in Western North Carolina, there’s a possibility that it could make a difference in the presidential race, but nowhere near a certainty.
“It’s within the realm of what can actually happen,” Bitzer said. “I’m not going to try and predict anything. That region is certainly a strong Republican region, and if Republicans need all the votes they can get, they need to be sure that those voters can show up to vote.”
However, anecdotally, there don’t appear to be any signs of decreased enthusiasm around voting, according to elections directors.
Houck said many people have been coming into the Ashe County elections office to register to vote, submitting absentee ballot requests and calling about their voter registration.
“I feel like people are going to try to get back to normal as quick as possible, and then also they’ll want to get out and vote,” she said.
Marr had the same perspective. “I would say, actually, the foot traffic to our office has increased,” he said.
Election officials are storm survivors, too
After the election is over, sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas, Inman plans to have “a very serious emotional episode.”
It’s been stressful, to say the least. For several days after the storm, Inman knew there were things his office needed to accomplish, but they didn’t have the tools to do anything.
“I can physically go to each and every precinct and see what’s affected and do an assessment,” he said. “Well, you couldn’t buy gas. Understand, we were struggling just to live here.”
Since, his staff has constantly been pulled in 50 directions. They were already behind, after the delay caused by the court-ordered reprinting of ballots, and the storm only exacerbated the condensed timeline.
“You used to have a day to do three tasks, and now we’re going to do 12 tasks in that same time frame,” Inman said.
Eventually, people’s shock will go away, he said, and people will stop being so forgiving. That concerns Inman.
“I want people to understand that if you just help us, all this will be just fine,” he said. “We have voted under many, many different circumstances over the years, and this is just another high hurdle that we will accomplish.”
This article first appeared on Carolina Public Press and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.