Hurricane Michael has left a stream of destruction in its path, knocking out entire buildings, cellphone service, and electricity. Thousands were left homeless and 16 were found dead in its wake.  

Election day for Florida is in 19 days, leaving more than 200,000 people wondering how they’ll be able to vote. Ken Detzner affirmed that his “number one priority” that “all registered voters, first responders, and volunteers in affected areas are able to cast their vote safely and securely.” Officials claim they are working to guarantee that people in devastated communities can vote in the midterm elections.  

The first step to handling the problem is to form a way for election officials to communicate with the voters, which is not currently possible in the areas where Michael hit the hardest, where the loss of cell phone service and electricity is currently a widespread dilemma. Bay, Gulf, Franklin, Jackson, Calhoun, Liberty and Gadsden Counties, are the most affected.   

Once communication between elected officials and voters has been achieved, Paul Lux, the president of the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections, claimed that local election supervisors will have a “fairly broad authority for how to handle emergency situations.”  

Most of the counties have no new voting procedures announced except for Gulf county. John H. Hanlon, the supervisor of elections in Gulf County, said that although the conditions were “catastrophic,” but voting will take place anyways.