How Will We Vote If There's A Disaster On Election Day? In a
briefing after Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast on Tuesday, a
reporter asked New Jersey Governor Chris Christie the question
that was probably on many minds: What about Election Day? "It
doesn't matter a lick to me at the moment,” Christie responded.
“I've got bigger fish to fry." Theoretically, a week will give
governments enough time to clear roads and restore power so
voting is possible next Tuesday. But if Sandy had hit a week
later, how would people have voted? Experts tell NPR that there
is no contingency plan or law that dictates what should happen
if a major natural disaster strikes on Election Day. Many states
have provisions that focus on local effects—like moving polling
places to neighboring precincts—that could conceivably be used
to reschedule an election. But according to the Congressional
Research Service, “The Constitution does not provide in express
language any current authority for a federal official or
institution to ‘postpone