Part 12 Emergency Preparedness & Contingency Planning

Elections are not cancelled or postponed due to emergencies. Planning for emergencies is as important for election administration as any other election preparations. Although there is a wide range of possible scenarios, it is possible to account for most of them with just a handful of preparations. Election officials should prepare and/or update their contingency plan ahead of each election. In some circumstances, voting can be extended past 8 p.m. if an emergency or other situation prevented voters from casting ballots.