CHARLOTTE, N.C. — With the approach of Hurricane Dorian, state elections officials are preparing in case Dorian impacts next Tuesday’s Ninth District election and primaries in Mecklenburg County.
The Ninth District race is tight between Democrat Dan McCready and Republican Dan Bishop.
The Executive Director of the State Board of Elections, Karen Brinson Bell, said in a statement, “We do not want Dorian to put a damper on turnout for these important elections.”
Elections officials are urging as many people as possible to take advantage of early voting, which resumes Tuesday following the Labor Day holiday and ends on Friday of this week.
Mecklenburg County is expecting little or no impact from Dorian, but the Ninth District stretches from South Charlotte out east through Union and Anson counties into southeastern North Carolina, where Dorian could have more of an impact.
The state has already sent out instructions to all county boards of elections in the Ninth District to remind them of the steps they should take to prepare for possible storm effects such as flooding, or power outages at early voting sites and Election Day polling places.
“We will be monitoring conditions on the ground and will consider any remedies necessary to ensure successful, accessible elections in 2019,” said Brinson Bell.
The State Board has the power to reschedule the election if Dorian disrupts the election next Tuesday.