In the wake of Helene, North Carolina officials are changing some election rules. We pray this won’t open the door to fraud.

From AP News. Voters in western North Carolina impacted by Hurricane Helene’s devastation may see several changes to how they can cast their ballots in the coming weeks after the state’s election board approved an emergency resolution that modifies voting rules.

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The resolution unanimously passed by the North Carolina State Board of Elections, which has both Democratic and Republican members, on Monday comes less than two weeks after Helene destroyed large swaths of western North Carolina — displacing residents, damaging homes and washing away roads.

In a critical presidential election that may hinge on which way the battleground state swings, that widespread disruption also presents major problems for how residents can cast their votes by Nov. 5.

Still, the board reiterated several times during Monday’s meeting that it was committed to ensuring early voting and Election Day happens on schedule across the state, while also making sure “no one is denied the right to vote because of these logistical problems,” said board chairman Alan Hirsch, who is a Democrat. …

The resolution outlines 13 counties in western North Carolina that have polling places or mailing services that were “severely disrupted” by Helene, either because of damage, inaccessibility, using locations for disaster relief or lack of staff. As of Monday, all county elections offices were open, executive director Karen Brinson Bell said.

Approximately 10 early voting sites in the affected counties reported significant damage, accessibility issues or unknown conditions, general counsel Paul Cox said. The state board is also working with emergency management officials to bring in temporary voting facilities, Bell told reporters on Monday.

One of the biggest changes in the resolution allows voters impacted by Helene to turn in absentee ballots by 7:30 p.m. to Election Day polling places operated by their county elections board. Displaced voters may also turn in ballots to another county’s elections board by the same deadline. Previously, voters could turn in absentee ballots to early voting sites in their county or to their county elections board by Election Day.

The resolution also expands opportunities to pick up an absentee ballot in-person from a county elections office until the day before the election. …

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(Excerpt from AP News. Photo Credit: James Willamor from Raleigh, NC, USA – 2008 Presidential election early voting lines, Charlotte, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=68865755)