RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina election leaders met Monday to decide how voters will cast their ballots after Helene devastated part of the state.
In a unanimous bi-partisan vote, the state Board of Elections approved a list of emergency measures for the hardest hit areas, including allowing affected voters to request and receive absentee ballots in person at their county elections office up until the day before the election and reassigning poll workers where needed to fill staffing gaps.
“Today’s actions allow us to move forward, adapt to the circumstances these counties and voters face, and ensure every eligible voter is able to cast their ballot," Karen Bell, Executive Director of the North Carolina Board of Elections, said.
The changes come as some polling locations face severe damage with the state calling on the National Guard to help.
"We can erect national guard tents," Bell said. "FEMA representatives, there are trailers or RVs that they can bring in and we can set those up.”
Mail-in ballots are another issue with absentee voting already underway. Bell said some ballots were lost in the storm, but they're working to find them.
"We are still working through identifying those, but any voter who’s concerned about the status of their ballot can certainly, if they had made the request, they can sign up for Ballot Trax, which is a service we provide to all voters who vote absentee by mail where they can follow their ballot in the mail stream.”
She says the state is doing what it can to support all voters under these unprecedented circumstances and debunked rumors, adding any claims the board is working in a manner that benefits a particular political party are false.
To view the full list of emergency measures and benefitting counties, click here to visit the state Board of Elections online.