Center for an Informed Public, University of Washington
Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida on September 26, 2024, and subsequently tracked north across the southeastern United States through parts of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The storm’s acute impacts have been staggering, including at least 230 deaths. It has also caused massive damage to critical infrastructure and sustained disruption to the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, especially in western North Carolina. At least a million people were without power five days after Helene made landfall. Another storm, Hurricane Milton, will make landfall in parts of Florida already hit by Helene, potentially compounding effects.

In the wake of the disaster — and amidst the tragedy, disruption, and uncertainty — rumors emerged about how the 2024 election will be affected, drawing widespread attention in part because of the storm’s impact on swing states like Georgia and North Carolina. The concerns powering these rumors are warranted: damaged infrastructure and the displacement of thousands of people from their homes and communities carries a real risk of disrupting the ability for people to vote using normal procedures.

Impacts on election administration from weather disasters are not unprecedented and election officials tend to work quickly to adapt to ensure affected communities can vote. Other storms, such as Hurricane Sandy in 2012, caused disruptions to normal election procedure and required rapid adaptations (e.g., allowing people to submit provisional ballots at any voting location) to ensure fair elections. North Carolina, one of the swing states acutely impacted by Helene, has dealt with hurricane-related disruption to their elections before, such as Hurricane Dorian in 2019. Hurricane Ian caused Florida to make emergency changes to election law in 2022 to ensure eligible voters could cast a ballot.

At the moment, as state and local election boards work quickly to communicate their plans, there is lingering uncertainty around the extent of the storm’s impacts on election processes and how they might be addressed. It is therefore not surprising to see rumors emerging from within communities grappling with the anxiety and uncertainty of the event — or to see bad actors attempting to exploit these conditions to push strategic narratives and unfounded conspiracy theories for political gain. With Hurricane Milton expected to make landfall this week in Florida, we anticipate rumoring to continue.

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