With just 35 days until election day, early voting kicking off in many areas, and absentee ballots already making their way into mailboxes, Hurricane Helene has brewed up more than just bad weather. There is the real likelihood of it putting a serious dent in the South’s ability to vote, potentially turning the south’s right to cast a ballot into the latest casualty of the storm. It’s definitely going to affect turn-out. There’s no doubt about that.

National media outlets are just starting to dive into how the recent hurricane and flooding may impact the upcoming elections in Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia and especially North Carolina. It’s clear that storm damage wreaked havoc on polling stations, supplies and equipment in those states. Flooded voting machines, damaged election centers, and roads that are too dangerous to navigate will pose significant challenges for voters.

Swimming to the voting center?

No one’s going to be slipping into scuba gear to cast their ballot (though some die-hard Trump fans might give it a shot). So questions remain…What will happen to all those voters in the southern states who don’t have a polling station to go to anymore? With spotty cell phone service and a lack of electricity in many areas, how will that affect election workers’ ability to set up polling locations and meet current deadlines to get their work done?

And what about absentee ballots that were potentially printed, maybe sitting in a warehouse, and now floating around somewhere along with drop boxes and Voter ID cards?

The road to democracy might be closed – literally.

Sure, voting matters, but what good is democracy when your route to the polling station feels more like navigating a white-water rafting course? With hurricane damage leaving roads flooded, washed out, or covered in debris, will the South’s infrastructure be ready in time for voters to cast their ballots? Or will voters be left wondering if they’ll need an alternate route – or a boat – to get to the polls?

While looking for your closet polling place, GPS might just shrug at you this time, saying, “Not my problem.” But hey, at least we might be practicing social distancing – but between voters and their polling places this time around.

Homeless voters displaced.

And how many waterlogged southerns have been displaced and will be moving out of their voting jurisdiction – or moving out of their home state altogether? So, not only are they homeless, but their voting status is in limbo. And most likely, they have more important things on their minds and more important things to do than figure out how they are going to be able to vote.

Unfortunately, it looks like Mother Nature decided to be another voice to weigh in on this year’s election cycle with flooding and storm damage likely turning many polling places into waterparks. That means scrambling to set up new voting centers, probably with a skeleton crew since workers are displaced. And if the absentee ballots are late to the party, some voters may not even get their ballots in time to return them.