Payam Javan: Early voting in North Carolina begins on October 17, allowing citizens to cast their ballots ahead of the November 2 deadline to avoid Election Day crowds. The state is working to ensure access for voters despite the damage caused by Hurricane Helene, a Category 4 storm that recently hit the Southeast. With widespread flooding and infrastructure damage, particularly in the western mountainous region, election officials face challenges in providing accessible polling locations. However, Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, reassured voters that the state is committed to ensuring that everyone, including those in disaster-stricken areas, will have the opportunity to vote.

Although some voting sites were lost due to the storm, Bell confirmed that 76 early voting sites will be open for the over 1.2 million registered voters in the affected areas. The state has made several adjustments to voting procedures to accommodate those impacted by the hurricane. These include modifying schedules for early voting in hard-hit counties and allowing outreach teams to visit disaster shelters to assist residents with voting. Additionally, absentee voting rules have been relaxed, enabling voters to pick up ballots at local election offices and return them to any county office or early voting site.

Despite these efforts, challenges remain, particularly with mail-in voting. As of October 10, thousands of absentee ballots had been mailed to voters, but with many Post Office locations still closed due to storm damage, returning ballots by mail may not be feasible for everyone. To address this, affected voters can vote absentee in person or drop off their ballots at local election offices or early voting sites. Election officials expect that early in-person voting will remain the preferred option for most voters in the upcoming election, continuing the trend seen in recent years.