Severe weather disrupts election day across several US states

Severe weather disrupted voting in parts of the United States on 3 November as voters cast ballots in the midterm elections. Flash flooding and heavy rain made some polling places difficult to reach, particularly in Florida and the Southwest. Election officials moved affected polling sites and arranged alternative ways to vote for people who had been displaced or stranded. Storms and possible tornadoes also posed a threat in parts of the central and southern states.

In the Southwest, flooding affected access to polling places in Colorado, Arizona, Utah and New Mexico. Election administrators changed several polling locations on the Navajo Nation, while voters in Utah’s San Juan County were allowed to vote electronically because some could not travel to the polls. Flooding also prompted last-minute polling place changes in eight Florida counties. Despite these local disruptions, voting nationwide had proceeded with relatively few problems by the afternoon, according to the Associated Press.