North Carolina
Hurricane-hit battleground states face additional voting hurdles in run-up to Election Day
Voters in storm-ravaged parts of the Southeast could face new hurdles at the ballot box this year following the destruction wrought by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, back-to-back disasters that have sparked a flurry of new outreach from states, parties, and even campaigns themselves in a bid to expand voters’ access to the polls and ensure their votes are counted.
Though the efforts in the hurricane-hit southern states have taken very different shapes, the shared goal is to increase engagement and participation in the 2024 presidential race, in which candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump remain locked in a virtual dead heat with less than a month until Election Day.
In North Carolina, efforts have been focused on helping displaced residents access polling locations in the wake of Hurricane Helene, which barreled onto shore last month as a Category 4 storm, killing more than 220 people and causing billions of dollars in destruction.
The bulk of the storm’s destruction was concentrated in western North Carolina and in Georgia, two competitive states that could play a key role in determining the next president. Roughly 17% of North Carolina’s registered voters reside in the counties that were designated as disaster areas in the aftermath of Helene, Michael Bitzer, a professor of politics and history at Catawba College, previously told Fox News.
‘CAN’T WAIT TILL THE LAST MINUTE’: NC CONGRESSMAN RAISES ALARM ON VOTER ACCESS IN AREAS HARD HIT BY HELENE
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell speaks during a news conference at the White House. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
