Voting access expanded in Florida counties impacted by Hurricane Helene

Monday, Oct. 7, marks the final day to register to vote in Florida . Due to the active hurricane season, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis implemented changes to facilitate voting for impacted Floridians.

Many residents face distractions from the election as some counties are still recovering from Hurricane Helene, while others are preparing for Hurricane Milton, now a Category 5 storm expected to hit the Tampa Bay area by Friday, Oct. 11.

The Florida Supervisors of Elections alerted the governor to significant disruptions caused by Hurricane Helene, including damage to many early voting sites and polling locations, which has displaced voters and made poll workers unavailable.

In response, DeSantis issued an executive order allowing election supervisors in 10 affected counties to adapt their voting procedures. This includes establishing additional in-person voting centers, adding new locations for vote-by-mail drop boxes and permitting ballots to be mailed to temporary addresses at a voter’s request.

DeSantis assured the public that the security of the election will not be compromised by these changes.

"If there’s a polling place that’s been destroyed, you have the ability to set up a different site, provide proper notice, and follow all the rest of state law," DeSantis said during a press conference . "This will ensure that residents impacted by this storm, who may be displaced, still have the ability to vote in November's election."

This is not the first time Florida has granted flexibility to elections officials following a major storm; similar adjustments were made after Hurricane Michael in 2018 and Hurricane Ian in 2022.

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