Good morning, and thank you all for being here. I’m Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the State Board of Elections, and I’m here with general counsel Paul Cox, who can help answer questions.
We continue to keep all of those affected by Helene in our thoughts as rescue and recovery efforts continue. And we stand with everyone else in our gratitude for the brave law enforcement, national guard, and emergency officials who are working around the clock to find and rescue any victims and starting the cleanup process.
This storm is like nothing we’ve seen in our lifetimes in Western North Carolina. The destruction is unprecedented, and this level of uncertainty this close to Election Day is daunting.
I keep hearing people say that “mountain people are resilient and tough.” I agree wholeheartedly and know without a doubt this to be true. While raised in eastern North Carolina, the mountains are my adopted home — I’m a graduate of UNC-Asheville, and I lived and worked in Buncombe, Henderson, and Transylvania counties for 20 years of my life. My first job in elections administration was with the State Board as field support to the 12 westernmost counties in our state. I’ve driven the roads that no longer exist; I’ve frequented restaurants and shops that are washed way; I’ve likely picked out a Christmas trees from a farm where the trees are uprooted; and I know people who have homes that are damaged and are suffering in this tragic situation.
Mountain people are strong and the election people who serve them are resilient and tough, too. Just go back to 2020, when we held an incredibly successful election with record turnout during the Covid pandemic. We’ve battled through hurricanes and tropical storms, too, and still held safe and secure elections. And we will do everything in our power to do so again.
I’ve been overwhelmed, but not surprised, by the offers of help from county boards of elections in parts of the state not affected by the storm to help their colleagues in western North Carolina. And I know that support will continue.
There are just a few things I want to mention before we take your questions:
We are taking this situation one step at a time, and this will be an ongoing process between now and Election Day. We do not have all the answers at this time, but we are diligently working to figure them out.
First, I want to remind you that you can get information on voting during Helene at ncsbe.gov/Helene, a webpage we set up yesterday for this purpose.
Second, our top priorities are to ensure the safety of our county boards of elections and poll workers, and to ensure every eligible voter who wants to cast a ballot in this election can do so.
Third, as of this morning, 12 of our county election offices in Western North Carolina remain closed. We are focused right now on getting those offices back up and running so that new absentee ballot requests can be processed, and voter registrations can be entered into the system. The voter registration deadline, remember, is Oct. 11.
Fourth, as we mentioned yesterday, we are deploying special emergency kits, “election offices in a box,” as we call them, to 3 or 4 counties so they can continue to work, despite having internet and phone service issues.
Fifth, as the 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.
We have been and continue to be in regular contact with our state and federal partners, as well as the U.S. Postal Service, to monitor where we are with road accessibility and mail delivery. We understand that some roads are starting to open back up, which, of course, is a positive sign.
We are also in contact with our voting systems and ballot printing vendors, and they stand ready to assist as needed if any issues arise.
And with that, I’m going to turn it over to General Counsel Paul Cox for some quick tips for voters.