Posted on 10/11/2024 7:28:36 AM PDT by Libloather
All Hurricane Helene-damaged counties will be ready to accept in-person voters when early voting starts statewide on Oct. 17.
Nearly all the early voting sites that elections officials in those western North Carolina counties had planned to open can still be used, state Elections Director Karen Brinson Bell told reporters Thursday. Of the 80 locations originally planned in those counties, 75 will open.
“This is absolutely outstanding that our county boards of elections have pulled this off in western North Carolina given the devastation and destruction left by Helene,” she said.
State elections officials talked to reporters the day after the General Assembly approved rules for voters from 25 Helene-damaged counties that will make it easier for displaced residents to vote and for local boards of election to relocate polling places.
The state elections office will receive a detailed survey from the 25 counties of the hundreds of Election Day polling places and work with state and federal emergency management officials to open as many of those as possible, Brinson Bell said.
On the state Board of Elections Voter Search page, voters can find their Election Day polling place, check their registration, and see their sample ballot. Early voting sites can be found here.
As the state House debated the hurricane relief bill Wednesday, Rep. Caleb Rudow, a Buncombe County Democrat, tried to get consideration of a measure to extend the voter registration deadline and allow a three-day grace period for absentee ballots from voters from the disaster counties.
Elections officials did not recommend asking for those changes.
(Excerpt) Read more at ncnewsline.com ...
Now, can they just make SURE that the good folks out in the hollows that are cut off by downed roads and bridges have their opportunity to cast their votes.
Yeah...that’s what worries me, too. Polls are open, but you can’t get there from here.
in person paper ballots don’t need electricity
PTL!!
NC (and GA) does allow paper ballots under two conditions—
1. If there are equipment issues, or power issues; ie the electronics are down. We call these ‘emergency ballots’ in GA. It’s a pain in the butt for us workers, but it’s entirely doable.
2. Your records seem messed up when you try to check in electronically, and the systems are down, you can vote provisionally on paper - using the emergency ballots. There’s nuances to this, but it’s doable.
Also NC did a wonderful thing in that they will allow a voter to vote outside of their precinct, even in a different county. This is great because of the number of folks who left their homes to stay with relatives or friends.
Be aware that in Georgia *WE* have uninterruptible power supplies (battery backups) for the various parts and pieces *AND* we know how to connect a generator. It ain’t hard. If you want the polls open, you CAN do it.
Having been in both N GA and western North Carolina late last week, I oberserved that the majority of the people will indeed have vehicle access to ‘towns’ and cities. The big roads were cleared by the State (destroyed roads are of course an exception). The secondary roads and backroads were cleared by county folks with chainsaws and manual labor **AND** a lot of gold ole’ boys and girls doing it themselves, especially up in the hills.
Fear not - a country boy can survive, will help their neighbors, AND *will* vote, especially after this.
After what they’ve been thru and FEMA, I’ll bet most would walk miles to cast their ballot.
thanx for your 1st hand account of current conditions in NGA & WNC. I appreciate the fact that you’re getting out and getting involved.
here’s what really worries me for 2024:
**************
CBS News - Politics
Democrats to invest six figures in turning out voters living outside the U.S.
By Aaron Navarro, Anne Bryson
Updated on: August 12, 2024 / 7:50 AM EDT / CBS News
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/democrats-investment-voters-abroad-us-election/
SAME HERE
Yup. I know that country. It’s a mess.
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