Most of the election offices in the flood-scoured North Carolina mountains have reopened following Hurricane Helene’s deadly inundation, with the exception of five counties that were hardest hit by the storm.
In the 25-county disaster area designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), election offices in Avery, Buncombe, Mitchell, Watauga and Yancey counties remained closed as of Thursday morning, according to the State Board of Elections (SBE).
“We are keeping track of their closure, phone, and internet status and will update the information routinely until all offices are open and fully operational,” the SBE said on the website set up to provide Helene-related updates to voters.
With power still out to more than 300,000 people in western North Carolina and communications infrastructure only beginning to recover, the Nov. 5 election is just 32 days away. Residents in towns and counties still clawing through muddy debris are resorting to age-old word-of-mouth communication and mule trains to spread information and resupply survivors while a huge government airlift and rescue response operation is ongoing.
There are 1.27 million registered voters in the 25 counties drenched by Helene as of Oct. 1. Of the 38,628 absentee ballots already sent, 37,630 are outstanding, according to the SBE. Nearly 1,000 had been returned by Thursday morning.
Republicans hold a 2-to-1 majority among registered voters in the disaster zone, which encompasses a large swath of deep-rep mountain counties punctuated by bright blue Asheville, which was an epicenter of destruction.
More than 480,000 Republicans are registered to vote in the region, compared with 293,000 Democrats, according to SBE data. Another 490,000 voters are registered as unaffiliated. Libertarian voters number 8,400, the No Labels Party counts 2,823 registered voters, and the Green Party 552.
We the People — which fought to include Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as its presidential candidate on the November ballot in North Carolina, then fought equally hard to have his name removed once the candidate dropped out and endorsed former President Donald Trump — has 127 voters registered in the region. Justice for All, with Cornel West as its standard-bearer, has just 27 declared voters there.
SBE personnel are working to ensure the security of the elections offices and the ballots, voting machines and other sensitive materials in them.
As county offices get back up and running, they will begin to assess early voting sites and Election Day polling places to see the extent of the damage and which facilities won’t be available on Nov. 5.
