Floods move polling places in Florida and force emergency voting rules in Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Oklahoma

Brevard County took the worst of the Florida rain. The Melbourne forecast office put rainfall at an estimated 16 to 22 inches in parts of southern Brevard County, rescue crews pulled more than 100 people from flooded areas, and schools are closed today in six counties in the hardest hit areas. Under the state's fall flooding emergency order, Executive Order 26-227, Brevard Supervisor of Elections Tim Bobanic moved eight precincts in Melbourne and Palm Bay. Precincts that voted at the Max K. Rodes Park Community Center and the Veterans Memorial Complex now vote at New Shiloh Christian Center on Sarno Road in Melbourne. Precincts from the Eddie Lee Taylor Sr. Community Center and the Front Street Civic Center now vote at the Joseph N. Davis Community Center. The precinct from Faith Baptist Church in Palm Bay now votes at Palm Bay City Hall. Martin County voters assigned to Grace Presbyterian Church in Stuart now vote at the county Supervisor of Elections office. The emergency declaration covers Brevard, DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands, Indian River, Martin and St. Lucie counties and runs 60 days.

Colorado's problem is the same river that flooded Pagosa Springs over the weekend. The San Juan River crested at 16.81 feet late Sunday night, as of November 2, about a foot below the 17.8 foot crest of the 1911 flood that destroyed most of the town, and then began to fall. Town Hall, the Community Center, the Visitor Center and the Maintenance Office stay closed today, and municipal court proceedings scheduled for today are canceled. Flood affected Colorado voters who have not yet voted can request a replacement ballot at any voter center in the state. Inside their home county they receive their full ballot. Outside it, they receive statewide races only. Mail ballots may be returned to any drop box or voter center in Colorado by 7 p.m., and voters kept home by flooding can request an emergency ballot through the Secretary of State's website.

Utah Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson issued an emergency election order on Monday allowing San Juan County voters who cannot reasonably travel to a polling place or drop box to request and return their ballots electronically. Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs declared a statewide emergency on Monday over the weekend's catastrophic rains, and Maricopa County declared a local emergency in its unincorporated areas. Any voter in a flood county should confirm the polling place address before travelling, because the site on the voter's card may no longer be the site in use.