As if the November general election doesn’t have enough drama. Hurricane Helene — the third-deadliest to hit the mainland United States in the past 50 years — has created more Election Day hurdles for a half-dozen southeastern states, including Georgia.

At least 121 hurricane-related deaths — including 25 in Georgia — have been reported so far. Hundreds are missing. Millions remain without power, including nearly 575,000 reported outages in Georgia, as of Monday. And meteorologists say more storms, tornadoes and hurricanes are on the way. Hurricane season runs through Nov. 30.

In addition to returning to their homes and restoring electricity and cellphone service, voting is likely to be one more hurdle for those who’ve been displaced and lost important documents such as driver’s licenses, birth certificates and voter cards this hurricane season.

Hurricane Helene cut a 500-mile path of destruction through six states just as local election offices in Georgia are training temporary staff and preparing for the Nov. 5 election while adjusting to last-minute rules from the State Election Board. 

State election officials are assessing just how big of an impact Hurricane Helene is having on election offices in Georgia, a key battleground state in the general election.

“We’re still working with some counties trying to figure out if any of their election offices have been damaged. Is their staff OK? Do they need medical assistance?” Mike Hassinger, a spokesman for the secretary of state’s office, told State Affairs. “Some of these people are going to need some basic stuff. And we’re monitoring and working with the local elections folks in south rural Georgia.”

The hurricane blew out the windows of an election registration office in Jones County, Hassinger noted. The staff was unharmed.

The Lowndes County Board of Elections in Valdosta, which was hit particularly hard by Helene, is closed this week due to storm damage. Former President Donald Trump visited Valdosta Monday, promising to rebuild the ravaged area. Lowndes has had three hurricanes in the last 14 months, Meghan Barwick, spokesperson for the county’s emergency management operations, told State Affairs.

Overall, Hassinger said, “the majority [of local election offices] are going to be fully functional by the end of the week.”

In the meantime, some state lawmakers have postponed fundraising events out of respect for hurricane victims.

Here’s a guide for voters affected by storms this hurricane season:

Getting started

Once you and your family are safe, have a place to stay and food, go to the secretary of state’s My Voter Page website. You can check your voter status, see your precinct assignment and find out if your voting location has changed because of the storm. Election officials will publish updates on the site and likely send out recorded telephone messages with any changes or updates.

My Voter Page will be the biggest help through the hurricane and election seasons, serving as a clearinghouse of information for election officials and voters alike.

“For any individual voter, that should be their starting point,” Hassinger said.

No home, no mailing address

If weather conditions result in you losing your home and thus your mailing address, you can go to your local board of elections, explain what happened and ask what you will need to provide to be able to vote.

Lost ID 

In order to vote you must have some form of identification that includes your photo. If you’ve lost or misplaced your driver’s license, for example, you can get a replacement card from the Georgia Department of Driver Services or the state Department of Motor Vehicles, Hassinger said.

But “any government-issued ID with your photograph on it will do,” Hassinger said.

If you don’t have an ID and you show up to vote on Election Day, you’ll be given a provisional ballot, which will be set aside from regular ballots in a separate stack. You’ll then have three days to provide photo identification.

If you’re unable to provide a proper ID that shows who you are and where you lived by Nov. 8 , your vote will not be counted, Hassinger said.

“I’m sure there are small counties with small populations of voters where the election workers know [voters] by first name,” Hassinger said. “Toliver County is probably like that. They might know them on site by first name. They may go to the same church, but they’ve got to show a photo ID to get a [regular] ballot.”

You’ll need a valid ID to vote early or in person, Hassinger said.

Here are other hurricane-related resources

Hurricane readiness kit and checklist. Do you have one? If not, check out what you need here.

Meals. The Salvation Army has a number of locations where hurricane victims can find places to eat. Go here.

Reporting damages. Go to the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security website to report damages to your home, business or other property.

Hurricane Helene Cleanup Hotline: (844) 965-1386. This crisis hotline will connect you with volunteers from local relief organizations, community groups and faith-based organizations.

Explore Georgia. This organization can help find hotels and other potential lodging. For details, go here.

American Red Cross Safe and Well. This program helps locate family and friends. Get help here.

Have questions, comments or tips? Contact Tammy Joyner on X @lvjoyner or at [email protected].

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Hurricane season in Georgia: What you need to know

Want to see the election process up close? Become a poll worker

Election czar Raffensperger talks challenges ahead of November

Presidential race aside, what’s at stake for Georgians in the November election?

New election rule gives officials time to probe, delay ballot counts before certifying results

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