Hurricane Helene left Charlotte County's election officials scrambling to make some last-minute changes after its largest early voting site was forced to close.
That means some big changes for thousands of voters in the General Election.
The Charlotte County Courthouse is the busiest early voting site in the county. Thousands of people show up to cast a ballot, but they can't do that now because of Hurricane Helene.
Water lines from Helene show a couple of feet of storm surge surrounding the building.
Long-time poll worker Karen Current was told the basement of the building flooded and it took out the elevator limiting access to the second floor, which meant the building was no longer ADA compliant.
That forced poll workers like Current to begin training one day late.
Despite that Current believes she and others are prepared and ready to go.
Charlotte County Supervisor of Elections Leah Valenti scrambled to move the training seminars to the Charlotte Harbor Event Center.
“All weekend long myself and county officials were working to secure a location so we didn't potentially throw the election off,” Valenti explained.
The elevator at the courthouse won't be fixed before early voting begins.
“Right now it's really important for folks to know this(courthouse) will not be the early voting location,” Valenti clarified.
The event center is also the new location for early voting. It will replace the courthouse.
“Right now our office is still operational for voter-related needs,” Valenti said.
Voters like Dennis Gershkoff are still using the courthouse to drop off their ballots.
“It's just very important for us to all get out and vote,” Gershkoff stated.
Voters hoping Helene won't prevent people from casting a ballot.
“I think there is plenty of time before the general election for them to do that,” said Voter Andrea Goldman.
Voter turnout in Charlotte County is expected to top 80% and with more storms possible Valenti issued a warning to voters.
“I know a lot of folks enjoy voting on election day but there will be lines. So, it's important to have a plan,” Valenti said.
Voters can still register to vote and drop off mail ballots at the courthouse. October 24 at 5:00 pm is the deadline to register to vote in the November 5 General Election.