Election officials grapple with potential voting issues following Hurricane Helene

Election officials in North Carolina, Florida and Georgia are scrambling to ensure voters will be able to cast their ballots in the November election amid catastrophic damage and flooding from Hurricane Helene.

After making landfall as a Category 4 hurricane, Helene has become one of the most powerful hurricanes in recent history. At least 200 people have been killed, according to The Associated Press.

With almost one month until the election, officials tell ABC News that damage to polling places and disruptions to the U.S. Postal Service could make it challenging for voters -- and they are working to find solutions.

"This storm is like nothing we've seen in our lifetimes in Western North Carolina," Karen Brinson Bell, the executive director of the state's Board of Elections said during a press call on Tuesday. "The destruction is unprecedented and this level of uncertainty this close to Election Day is daunting."

Some election officials in the state have received attack response kits, special emergency kits that were designed around cybersecurity but "have a purpose in emergency situations of any kind," Bell said. The kits include cellphones, laptops and Wi-Fi devices.

"Election offices in a box," Bell called the kits, saying they can enable officials to continue their work if they don't have phone or internet service.

"We can't stop elections, just like we can't let a storm stop us," Bell said.

A 'shockingly difficult time'

In North Carolina's hard-hit Buncombe County, Director of Election Services Corinne Duncan told ABC News in an email on Tuesday that officials there were still struggling to assess how much the hurricane has impacted their election-related operations. She said she couldn't speak with ABC News by phone, because the storm had knocked out service.

As of Tuesday, Duncan's office also had no running water and officials were unable to contact nearly 800 poll workers for training that was supposed to get underway this week, Duncan said.

The county had been planning to have 80 polling locations operating on Election Day, but as of Tuesday election officials had been unable to complete site assessments at those locations, according to Duncan.

"This impact of this storm on our operations is still not fully known," she said.

Duncan, however, said the Postal Service was still running in Buncombe County, and that residents with absentee ballots were being asked to mail them to her office.

"It has been heartening to witness everyone coming together in this shockingly difficult time," Duncan said of her county's residents as recovery efforts continue.

'A lot of water issues'

In Pinellas County, Florida, where at least a dozen people have been killed, up to 40 polling locations "may have sustained significant damage and could require relocation," the elections department said in an update on their website.

"Our teams are actively reaching out to polling places and conducting damage assessments throughout the county," the statement said. "We are diligently working to identify suitable alternative sites and will keep you informed of any changes."

In Hillsborough County, one of Tampa Bay's coastal communities, Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer told ABC News that the county has lost two polling locations due to the hurricane.

"We've had a lot of water issues," Latimer said.

The county has been in contact with Secretary of State Cory Byrd's office to discuss how to address displaced voters.

A spokesperson for Byrd told ABC News their office has reached out to the Postal Service regarding "concerns about elections information and vote-by-mail."

"The Division of Elections recommended to supervisors of elections that they reach out to their local district USPS points of contact if they have not already done so, to discuss a mitigation plan for ballot mailing, delivery, and return," the spokesperson said.

"Supervisors of elections are in their communities to survey and evaluate damage to infrastructure and polling places," said the spokesperson. "Supervisors are also reaching out to poll workers."

'That's what elections people do'

In the critical battleground state of Georgia, one official told ABC News they have "concerns" across the board -- including worries about possible damage to polling locations, poll workers potentially backing out, and issues with the Postal Service either being shut down or being unable to find voters who have been relocated due to the storm.

Deb Cox, the elections supervisor in Georgia's Lowndes County -- the home of the hard-hit city of Valdosta -- said they have not yet been able to check on their polling locations yet due to impassable roads and power outages, but that she has heard "unconfirmed reports" of damage to those locations.

Cox also expressed concern about the vote-by-mail process, saying some voters could have issues receiving their absentee ballot applications, or issues with voter registration applications that were sent by mail -- with the voter registration deadline just four days away.

"I have a concern that those voters who have already requested ballots may not be at the address any longer due to the hurricane," Cox said.

In a statement Wednesday, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger assured residents that the "physical infrastructure" needed to conduct the election would be "fully operational" before early voting begins. He added that the public would be notified about any voting locations that need to be moved.

Cox called the hurricane "the straw that broke the camel's back" for some election workers, who were already facing mounting pressure since the state's Republican-led election board announced a host of controversial rule changes.

"About 25% of our poll workers, of those scheduled for training so far, have said, 'I just can't deal with this right now,'" Cox told ABC News. "It's all a matter of cost-benefit. People want to be a part of the process, to volunteer, to help make history -- but when the cost of volunteering becomes too much, it doesn't happen."

Still, Cox said she has been "working around the clock" with the secretary of state's office to try to resolve these issues.

With no phone service, she said her staff brought their personal Wi-Fi hotspots into the office to work -- often in the dark and without heat before electricity was restored.

"At the end of the day, that's what elections people do, all over the state and all over the U.S.," Cox said. "Regardless of the obstacles, we get the job done, and we will make it happen again."