By Andy Sullivan
(Reuters) -Election officials in the battleground state of North Carolina approved changes on Monday that aim to make it easier for voters in areas devastated by Hurricane Helene to cast ballots in the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election.
The changes approved unanimously by the North Carolina State Board of Elections will give flexibility to local election officials as they try to ensure that residents in the mountainous western part of the state will be able to vote, even as roads and communications networks remain disrupted.
The goal is to ensure that voters in all areas of the state will have the same voting options -- either by mail, early in person starting on Oct. 17 or on Election Day, said Karen Brinson Bell, the board's executive director.
North Carolina is one of seven states that are expected to determine whether Republican Donald Trump or Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris is the next president of the United States. Opinion polls show the two candidates locked in a tight contest.
North Carolina's mountainous west was especially hard hit by Hurricane Helene, which killed more than 200 people across six states. Many roads in the region remain impassible and untold numbers of residents are still cut off from the outside world.
The changes approved by the five-member election board would allow outreach teams in 13 of the hardest hit counties to visit disaster shelters and other areas to help people complete their ballots.
Based on preliminary feedback, about nine or 10 early voting sites have had either significant damage and accessibility issues, or it was unknown whether the site would be available by the time early voting started, said Paul Cox, general counsel for North Carolina's State Board of Elections.
The state has dozens of early voting sites in the hardest-hit counties. Some early voting sites are being used for shelters or as warehouses for supplies, said Brinson Bell.
She added the state anticipates there will be at least an early voting site open in every county from Oct. 17 through Nov. 2, with potentially additional days or changes in hours.
"Early voting may look different than expected in some of the 13 hardest-hit counties, but it will go on," Brinson Bell said.
The 13 hardest-hit counties would be able to modify early-voting hours and locations and change staffing plans if needed.
The changes also would allow residents to pick up absentee ballots at local election offices and return them at any polling place on Election Day, rather than the limited locations that were previously allowed.
"We will continue to make voting accessible to the voters, whether we need four-wheelers, horses or helicopters," said Stacy Eggers IV, a Republican board member from Boone, a western mountain town that was hit by the hurricane.
(Reporting by Andy Sullivan in Washington and Stephanie Kelly in New York; Editing by Scott Malone, Bill Berkrot and Anna Driver)
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