Storm soaks central US on Election Day after causing deadly flooding, voting disruptions in Southwest

By Meteorologists Tyler Ory, Chris Dolce, Briana Waxman, and CNN’s Kate S. Petersen

(CNN) — Widespread rain draped across the central United States on Election Day from the same storm that caused deadly and historic flooding in the Southwest over the past few days.

The destructive storm briefly shut down voting sites near Phoenix, sparking disinformation, and prompted voting logistics changes in Utah and Colorado. Flood-damaged roads kept hundreds from polling locations in a Native American community in northeastern Arizona Tuesday, according to local officials.

The storm has lost much of its strength, but rain continues to impact some voters on Tuesday from the Great Plains and Upper Midwest south through the Mississippi Valley to the western Gulf Coast. Key races in Iowa, eastern Texas and northern Michigan are dealing with wet conditions.

Active weather tends to suppress voter turnout while sunshine has the opposite effect, multiple studies have found.

The threat of flooding rain is low, but voters traveling to the polls could encounter ponding on roads.

A few thunderstorms turned severe in the early afternoon, delivering isolated damaging wind gusts and a couple brief tornadoes near the Louisiana-Texas border. Storms could reach as far east as Memphis, Tennessee, by the time polls close.

Though not from the same storm, scattered showers are also falling in parts of Florida.

Serious flooding from more than 20 inches of rain on Sunday and Monday forced election officials to move 23 polling places in the state. At least two deaths have been linked to flooding around Palm Bay: 34-year-old Joshua Bennett and 78-year-old Archie Richards, the city’s police department told CNN on Tuesday.

A flooding repeat is not expected Tuesday, but parts of southeast Florida from north of Miami to West Palm Beach are in a Level 2 of 4 risk of flash flooding.

Most other parts of the country, including the flood-ravaged Southwest, have stayed dry and temperatures were mild. Nuisance showers in northern New England and Northern California are the only exceptions.

Deadly floods force evacuations, impact voting

The storm dropped multiple months’ worth of rain on parts of the Southwest over the weekend, causing waterways to burst their banks and forcing evacuations in at least a dozen counties across parts of Arizona, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico.

Multiple rivers, creeks and washes surged past major flood stage — the highest level. Some in Arizona and Colorado also hit record highs.

In Flagstaff, Arizona, a 73-year-old man was found dead early Monday morning after reportedly falling into floodwater Sunday evening, according to the Flagstaff Police Department. He was identified as Williams Singavarapu in a news release.

A second man was found dead in Flagstaff Monday morning in a stormwater drainage area, according to police. The death appeared to be weather-related, police said, but an official cause of death is under investigation.

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs declared a statewide state of emergency Monday to free up resources to help residents and repair infrastructure.

In Colorado, evacuations were ordered along the San Juan River in Pagosa Springs as the river surged to its second-highest level on record.

A voting center and ballot drop box in Pagosa Springs have been relocated because of the flooding, according to the Colorado Secretary of State’s office. Those impacted by floods can request an emergency ballot online or go to another voting center, but they’ll be limited to statewide races if they go to one outside their home county.

In Utah, Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson on Monday issued an emergency election accommodation order to allow San Juan County voters “who are unable to reasonably travel to in-person polling or drop box locations on Election Day to request and return their ballots electronically.”

Floodwater entered homes and forced evacuations and water rescues in neighboring San Juan County, New Mexico, but all polling locations will be opened as planned in the state for Election Day, a spokesperson for the New Mexico secretary of state’s office told CNN.

Flood-damaged roadways in northeastern Arizona prevented hundreds in the Native American community of Rock Point from getting to the polls Tuesday, local officials told CNN. Arizona’s Secretary of State said in an emergency notice that accessing Rock Point’s polling location “may require a lengthy detour.”

“I’m expecting a very low turnout,” Valinda Shirley, Rock Point’s Navajo Nation chapter vice president, told CNN.

Navajo County Council Delegate Carl Slater said local authorities were coordinating with nonprofits to have volunteers with four-wheel drive vehicles transport stranded voters to shuttles to deliver them to polling sites. Officials are also looking into legal remedies, including possibly extending voting hours.

In a statement, the Arizona Secretary of State said: “Our office continues to work with Navajo DOJ and voter advocacy groups in this area and others around the state to do what we can to help voters overcome the challenges created by the storm and flooding.”

This story has been updated with additional information.

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CNN’s Ritu Prasad and Ray Sanchez contributed to this report.