But Andersen contended that when the order was written, “no one knew the amount [of damage]” that would still linger weeks after the storm.
“That’s why the decision was made to move in that direction,” he said. “You need to put yourself in the hurricane category and condition where we have food, water and basic shelter because that’s still all we have basically in Bay County.”
He said he had informed the Department of State about halfway through mega-voting that he intended to accept some ballots submitted by email.
A department spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“We did what we could. I’m sure I’m not the only county,” Andersen added, though he declined to name any others. “I know there were a lot of displaced voters.”
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