NORTH CAROLINA VOTING AFTER A HURRICANE. November elections will go on. This is not the first natural disaster to affect elections, and it won’t be the last. In NC after Hurricane Dorian in 2019, the National Guard was called in to help set up voting. Check the NC Board of Elections link (below) for info now. For instance, NC voters are reminded that lost or damaged absentee ballots can be reissued and sent to temporary addresses, and the state’s voter identification law includes an exception for victims of a natural disaster occurring within 100 days of Election Day. (Most states have statutes for election emergencies.)
In Georgia, the Secretary of State’s Office said its biggest concern is the U.S. Postal Service. “We have ZIP codes where they just aren’t delivering right now, and we have to get absentee ballots out [soon].” The State is working out a contingency plan for UPS or FedEx to deliver absentee ballots.
Emergency preparedness is part of election administration. There are all types of emergencies: COVID, hurricanes, tornados, wildfires, flooding, power failures, potential attacks, human errors, even problems with mailing envelopes. Continuity of operations plans at the state and local level are critical. (And you need printed copies in case the internet goes down.)
Mark Earley, the elections supervisor in Leon County, Fla. has main servers housed in a different building and keeps redundant servers. He has uninterruptible outlets and says extension cords may be the key to all emergency situations: “Everybody thinks about generators, but they are useless if you don’t have 30-amp or 50-amp cords.”
Check out more about voting after Hurricane Helene and contingency planning at the links.
https://mailchi.mp/votebeat.org/after-hurricane-helene-north-carolina-and-other-states-scramble-to-keep-election-on-track?e=da7003c11c
https://www.ncsl.org/state-legislatures-news/details/with-a-good-plan-theres-no-need-to-worry-when-election-emergencies-strike?utm_source=national+conference+of+state+legislatures&utm_term=0_-6fd62239b5-[list_email_id]&utm_campaign=6856808343-canvass-oct-1&utm_medium=email
https://www.ncsbe.gov/voting/upcoming-election/helene-recovery-and-voting#