Helping NC Voters: Hurricane Changes Voting Rules

North Carolina's election board decided to make voting easier for those hit hard by Hurricane Helene. In the western part of the state, 13 counties got more flexible options for mail-in voting and running elections. Usually, voters have to request absentee ballots by a certain Tuesday. Now, they can do it up to the day before Election Day. They can also drop off their ballots at county election boards or polling sites anywhere in the state. Before, they could only drop them off at their county's election board or early voting sites.

Counties can change their early voting hours and schedules, move polling sites, or even move them to other counties if needed. This is because some voting sites are being used as shelters or warehouses, and others were damaged or made inaccessible by the storm. The voter registration deadline wasn't extended because there's same-day registration during the early voting period. This helps people who got displaced and missed the first deadline. Officials in other states also made changes to their voting process because of the hurricane. Florida's governor let 13 counties have more flexibility, like moving polling sites and drop boxes. South Carolina extended its voter registration deadline to October 14. Georgia says its election operations will continue smoothly, with fewer than 700 ballots stuck in areas where local post offices are closed. Officials there are working to find other ways to get those ballots to voters.

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