Mayorkas is confident that states will ease voting for hurricane-affected areas

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Thursday said local and state officials are taking steps to make sure residents in hurricane-impacted areas are able to vote in November’s election.

Florida was battered by Hurricane Milton late Wednesday and North Carolina, a major swing state, is cleaning up from disastrous winds and flooding from Hurricane Helene in its mountainous western counties.

“We have seen them take measures to ensure that people can in fact reach their polling places,” Mr. Mayorkas said at a White House briefing. “Some polling places have been damaged, for example, as a result of Hurricane Helene. But they are pivoting to make sure that there are other facilities available to them, and they’ll have different places at which they can place their votes.”

Beyond moving voting sites, North Carolina is allowing county officials to adjust early voting hours or cast ballots at county election offices instead of their precincts.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also signed measures that allow supervisors to relocate or combine voting sites.

Mr. Mayorkas addressed election access and security as part of a broader update on storm recovery.

He said search-and-rescue missions are the top priority after Hurricane Milton blew through Florida Wednesday night and Thursday.

More than 3 million customers are without power and many structures were “severely damaged” or collapsed completely, according to Mr. Mayorkas.

“Our hearts break for the Floridians who have lost so much,” Mr. Mayorkas said.

Mr. Mayorkas said there were 27 reported tornadoes and that deaths were reported, but did not provide a specific toll.

The secretary said the administration “will not leave” Florida until the work is done, and the same is true for North Carolina, which is cleaning up from Hurricane Helene.

He said rescue teams helped more than 4,000 people in Helene-impacted counties, and 5 million customers have seen their power restored.

Like President Biden, Mr. Mayorkas bemoaned the extent of bogus information around the storm response. He said it has a poor impact on survivors and demoralizes first responders.

Mr. Mayorkas said some persons believe their property might be confiscated by federal responders.

“What we have seen is people [are] reticent, reluctant to access the relief to which they are entitled,” he said.