County Clerks Struggle to Run Election in Hurricane Battered North Car...

Hurricane Helene left a path of death and destruction in its wake, and among the hardest hit areas is western North Carolina. The storm knocked out critical infrastructure like water, electricity, and internet service.

But Helene also threatened another critical infrastructure: democracy and the upcoming November election.

The areas covered under the federal disaster declaration include seventeen percent of the state’s registered voters, and county clerks, who must run the elections, are frantically working to get mail-in ballots secured, election equipment prepared, and poll workers supported for November fifth.

Carrie Levine is a journalist and managing editor of VoteBeat, a non-profit news organization covering voting access and election administration. Ms. Levine wrote an article for VoteBeat about hurricane Helene and clerks struggling to get ready for the election. Monday Buzz guest host Nicholas Wootton spoke to Levine by phone, where she described in detail the challenges that clerks in the hardest hit areas face.

Feature image by Logan Combs, US Geographical Survey. Public domain.

Web posting by WORT producer Nicholas Wootton

The post County Clerks Struggle to Run Election in Hurricane Battered North Car... appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.