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Two battleground states, Georgia and North Carolina, are opening early voting this week, and the Peach State is already seeing record numbers of voters turn out.
Between a flurry of legal changes and the aftermath of Hurricane Helen, things could look different for many voters heading to the polls in the coming weeks.
Voters can head to the ballot box in Georgia starting Tuesday, and early voting begins Thursday in North Carolina.
Georgia had surpassed 188,000 votes cast by 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday, setting a new record for early voting in a key battleground state, according to state election officials. “We’re looking at surpassing 200,000 votes cast in person today. Hats off to our county and the voters who came out to vote. Huge!” Gabriel Sterling and Georgia Secretary of State Muro posted on social media.
Here’s what you need to know about how voting and elections work in two key battleground states.
Fewer drop boxes, but more ways to vote early
Election experts say new state laws starting in 2020 that tighten rules for absentee voting and crack down on the use of drop boxes could make this option less attractive than early voting.
In 2020, many drop boxes were available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, but this year there will be fewer drop boxes and they will be located at election offices and early voting locations with business hours similar to normal business hours. It will be.
“Drop boxes have become so difficult to use that fewer voters are using them,” said Kristin Neighbors, director of Every Vote Local in Georgia. “We’re never trying to discourage people from using Dropbox, but we can see why people might find it easier to show up in person.”
Meanwhile, in-person early voting opportunities are expanding, with Georgia law requiring two early voting sessions on Saturdays and allowing counties to hold two early voting sessions on Sundays if they choose. are.
Dietary restrictions for people in line
A 2021 law that makes it a crime to provide food or drink to voters waiting to cast their ballots was heavily promoted by the press and immortalized by comedian Larry David in an episode of “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” However, most of them have survived legal challenges. As such, providing bottled water or snacks to voters within 40 feet of the building where voting is being conducted remains prohibited.
The law would also prohibit serving food and drink within 25 feet of a voter in line, even if it was far more than 150 feet from the building where voting was being held. The justices suspended that provision and allowed voting rights groups to grant so-called line relief for voters who are likely to wait in particularly long lines.
Hoping for faster results, but concerned about uncertainty
The Peach State has made several changes to let voters know election results sooner. At 8 p.m. ET on election night, counties must report early in-person and absentee voting results. Counties will tally Election Day voting results and provide regular updates. The goal is to provide quick, fair and transparent results, according to Georgia’s Secretary of State.
At the same time, several new rules passed by the Republican majority on the Georgia Board of Elections, backed by Donald Trump, are creating uncertainty in the post-election process. The board passed rules requiring hand counting of ballots at each polling place, which could delay reporting results.
The board also passed rules allowing county officials to review extensive election materials before certification and requiring county officials to conduct a “reasonable investigation” before certifying results.
There are ongoing lawsuits related to all the new rules, and Democrats and voting rights activists are worried they could be abused by county-level officials seeking to challenge election results or slow the certification process. I am concerned that this may not be the case.
Impact of Hurricane Helen damage
North Carolina officials are working hard to get residents to vote in the wake of Hurricane Helen.
Bob Phillips, executive director of Common Cause North Carolina, said of the storm’s impact on turnout: “I think there will be a reduction, but it’s hard to really predict how much.” . “But so far I am encouraged by the response the State Board of Elections is taking to educate people on what to do and how to vote.”
The North Carolina State Board of Elections website has the latest information on relocated polling places, how voters can vote if they lost their ID in the storm, how evacuated voters can request a new absentee ballot, and more. is published.
As for early voting locations, the 25 western counties most affected by Helen had 80 planned early voting locations. Of those, 75 are expected to be operational once early voting begins. “Given the devastation and destruction that Helen left behind, there is no way that county election boards could have pulled this off in western North Carolina,” State Board of Elections Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell said at a news conference last week. It’s wonderful.”
Brinson-Bell said state officials are still working to secure everything from generators to portable toilets to open as many polling places as possible on Nov. 5.
There is no longer a grace period for voting by mail.
Voters considering voting by mail should note that unlike in 2020, ballots must be received by 7:30 p.m. ET on Election Day.
In the last presidential election, there was a three-day grace period for ballots to arrive, but that grace period has now been abolished.
New voter ID rules
This will be the first presidential election in which Tar Heel State residents will be required to show identification to vote. Acceptable forms of identification include driver’s licenses, passports, and student photo IDs approved by the State Board of Elections.
There are exceptions when voters are unable to provide identification, and one of those exceptions is natural disasters. In that case, voters fill out an ID exception form attached to their ballot. The State Board of Elections notes that county election boards must count provisional ballots, including ID exception forms.
Georgia and North Carolina both ban the photography of ballots.
“Everyone is taking selfies these days, including baby boomers like me,” said Phillips, a native of Common Cause, North Carolina. “But there are certainly laws against selfies.”
Phillips noted that voters can still bring their phones to the polls if they want to look up information about where to vote. Not applicable to all states.
CNN’s Tierney Sneed contributed to this report.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
