Hurricane Helene NC votes | Election officials work to ensure voting access in hardest hit areas is not strained [Video]

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) — As rescue and recovery efforts continue in the western part of the state, the North Carolina Board of Elections outlined efforts its undertaking to ensure voting access.

“We are deploying special emergency kits. We call them ARKS — attack response kits. They were designed around cybersecurity, but they have purpose in emergency situations of any kind. Election offices as we call them, there are three to four counties that we are deploying these to, so they can continue to work despite having internet and phone service issues,” explained Karen Brinson Bell, Executive Director of North Carolina Board of Elections.

The US Postal Service informed election officials that its mail delivery and operations are suspended at dozens of post offices, with many residential mailboxes likely washed away by the storm.

“If a person is displaced, they can request an absentee ballot be delivered to their new location. So for example, if someone had to leave their home …