This is

now, Democracy Now.org, the War and Peace Report.

I'm Amy Goodman.

We look now at how Hurricane Helene is impacting efforts to keep voting on track in the hard-hit

areas of North Carolina, just weeks ahead of the November 5th election.

Early voting begins there in two weeks, October 17th.

We're going now to Raleigh where we're joined by Bob Phillips, Executive Director of Common

Cause North Carolina, which advocates for voting rights in this battleground state.

The effect of the storm has been catastrophic. Can you describe how this affects not what everyone is thinking

about right now as they battle for their businesses, for their homes, for their very lives,

but how this is affecting voting in North Carolina, Bob.

Yes, Amy, and thank you for having me on.

And really, to answer that question is, it's unknown.

We are still, obviously, in rescue and recovery here in the 25

County region of North Carolina and it's really hard to know exactly what this is

going to mean for the election and we're almost having to compartmentalize

in our own heads a whole state about how we have this disaster.

We're trying to help our friends and fellow citizens

in North Carolina. but there's this important

election in the backdrop. Election officials feel very confident that they can do all

they can they can to do what we want and that is to make sure that every voter in

Western North Carolina has equal access to the ballot.

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