MOYOCK, N.C. — Election officials called the uncertainties of running an election "daunting" following major damage in the western part of the state from Hurricane Helene.
"This storm is like nothing we've seen in our lifetimes in western North Carolina," Karen Brinson Bell, the executive director of the N.C. State Board of Elections, told reporters on Tuesday morning.
The storm has led to the closure of 12 county election offices, but Bell said that no voting equipment nor ballots were damaged.
Watch related coverage: North Carolina has a long road to recovery after Helene
Election officials say people who've lost their homes or can't get back to their homes can change their addresses to vote on Election Day. Voters can also request a mail-in ballot at a new address.
Bell says systems are in place to ensure the count will be accurate.
"We prepare for emergencies and for things to not go as planned, and so that's what we're doing. We're responding to the situation at hand," she said.
Polls in the state have shown a very tight race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
"Where this horrible, horrible disaster may matter a lot is because North Carolina's elections are so close. Most polls are showing, really, a 50-50 race between Trump and Harris," said Jason Husser, the director of Elon University's poll.
Watch: Polls show a razor thin matchup between Harris, Trump in North Carolina
Husser says it's too soon to know the full impact on the vote, but said the region impacted includes red mountainous communities and blue cities and towns like Asheville and Boone.
"There will probably be a lot of people that say [they] either can't get to vote or it's just not a priority when their house has been washed away," he said.
Bell said election officials will adapt to run the election as smoothly as possible.
"It's not going to stop how we do elections just because there's been a hurricane," she said. "We might have to do it a little differently, but we're going to proceed."
