Former President Donald Trump’s campaign is hoping Hurricane Helene doesn’t have a devastating impact on next month’s election — as officials are working overtime to ensure voters have the ability to cast their ballots in two affected swing states.
“Certainly we are aware that there could be impacts to voting behavior, so we have been working around the clock to ensure that that can be mitigated,” a Trump adviser told The Post about the aftermath of Helene and Hurricane Milton, which ravaged the Southeast.
Hurricane Helene, which made landfall Sept. 26, was especially hard on North Carolina and Georgia — which could be decided by just thousands or even hundreds of votes on Nov. 5.
“We’re in touch with local officials, we have people on the ground as well who have been collecting intel from everything from road closures to housing situations, power outages, mail zip code delivery suspensions, road debris impacts,” the adviser added.
Officials in both states have said they are implementing measures to have the election go smoothly, with the North Carolina State Board of Elections expanding early voting in impacted areas and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announcing his office will be coordinating with local election officials.
The devastation may lower turnout compared to past presidential elections, but the good news that between early voting and mail-in balloting, residents have more options to make their voice heard.
Unlike in past cycles, both Republicans and Democrats have been encouraging their supporters to vote in whatever way they can, but the flooding and road closures could mean some mail-in ballots were lost while early in-person voters may have difficulty reaching their polling place.
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley celebrated the expansion of early voting in storm-hit parts of North Carolina last week, for which the Trump campaign had advocated.
“North Carolinians who suffered the onslaught of Hurricane Helene cannot also be deprived of their right to vote – and that means expanding early voting sites in affected areas,” Whatley wrote in a statement.
“We are glad to see the North Carolina State Board of Elections has come around to the Republican led legislature’s bipartisan plan to expand voter access to hurricane-impacted areas. We will continue to watch and monitor the situation, hold the Board of Elections accountable, defend voting access for hurricane victims, and be prepared to litigate should the board prohibit the expansion of voter access.”
While the effect of the storm on the final outcome of the 2024 race is unclear, the Trump campaign is optimistic that anger about the slow pace of the initial federal response to Helene in red-leaning western North Carolina will propel the Republican nominee to pick up the Tar Heel State’s 16 electoral votes.
“People on the ground, especially in western North Carolina, are very, very, angry,” the adviser said, “and they are certainly expressing that one of the things that they intend to do to address their anger is to go out and vote for President Trump.”
