Hurricane Zeta leaves at least 2 dead after battering Gulf Coast
Storm made landfall in Louisiana as a Category 2 hurricane.
Lingering power outages in Louisiana from Hurricane Zeta sparked an argument on Sunday between the Democratic mayor of New Orleans and the Republican secretary of state over who is providing generators for polling places still without electricity on Election Day.
As of Monday morning, over 65,000 Entergy Louisiana customers remain without power in the southeastern corner of the state, including in the New Orleans metropolitan area.
The company said that it has made "significant progress" in restoring power from the storm that caused more than 480,000 outages in the state.
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But the lingering power outages that look to stretch into Election Day caused a public feud on Sunday between Mayor LaToya Cantrell and Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin.
Tens of thousands of residents in Louisiana remain without power after Hurricane Zeta moved through New Orleans. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP, AP Photo/Kevin McGill)
Cantrell's office initially put out a statement saying that up to 11 precincts in the city could still be without power on Tuesday nearly a week after the storm hit. She added that Ardoin and his commissioner of elections, Sherri Wharton Hadskey, were "refusing to provide support for generators" for those impacting precincts.
"In failing to fulfill its duty, the Secretary of State’s office risks disenfranchising Orleans residents and threatens to suppress the vote," Cantrell said in a news release.
Ardoin said in his response that a "Herculean effort" to assess and restore all election infrastructure has been underway since the storm.
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"It is unfortunate that politicians like Mayor Cantrell ... have responded to Hurricane Zeta by trying to score cheap political points instead of being part of any solution," he said.
Ardoin said Saturday that all polling locations without power restoration will receive generators to operate Election Day equipment.
"Our office is working with Entergy and other utility partners to restore power to polling locations," his office said.
Hours after the back-and-forth the city said Sunday night that Entergy New Orleans now estimates that three polling stations could be without power Tuesday — down from the 11 earlier estimated.
Portable generators and lighting for two of the locations were being provided by the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness and the Secretary of State's Office, and Entergy New Orleans would provide the generator for the third site, the statement said.
Entergy would transport and operate the generators provided by the state to the other two locations, the city said. The city was expecting that all original polling places would be in operation come Tuesday.
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Ardoin's office said Sunday night that all remaining polling locations without power have a generator either operational or scheduled for a Monday delivery and installation.
"Additionally, on Election Day, there will be reserve generators, technicians and support staff on standby, ready to quickly assist any location that experiences technical difficulties," his office said. "All Election Day voting machines contain a battery reserve, which can run up to eight hours without power."
Zeta left up to 2.9 million without power across the Southeast after making landfall last Wednesday as a Category 2 hurricane. There are still over 310,00 customers without power in the region as of Monday morning, according to the power outage tracking website poweroutage.us.
Utility workers repair the power lines at Giani Road in rural Pass Christian, Miss., where thousands of people are without power on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020, following Hurricane Zeta. (Calvin Ishee/The Gazebo Gazette via AP))
Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson said Friday that the state emergency management agency is on standby to provide support to any county that needs it before or on Election Day.
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In Georgia, officials expected to have power restored to the state’s 2,419 polling places by Tuesday.
Poll workers walk through dark voting booths during early voting at the Dunwoody Library after Hurricane Zeta knocked out power in the surrounding areas on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020, in Dunwoody, Ga. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Gabriel Sterling, voting system implementation manager for the Georgia Secretary of State, said Friday the Secretary of State’s office was talking to the state emergency management agency about backup generators.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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