Natural disasters are likely to increase in the near future. How does the anticipation of such events influence voting behavior? We study the effect of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic on electoral choice. We combine a case study of a local election in Bavaria, Germany, with original survey data. The election took place at the beginning of the pandemic, when only some parts of Bavaria had recorded cases. We find that local outbreaks favored candidates from the political party that was governing at the state level, and show that established theories of voting behavior cannot easily explain this effect. We theorize that our findings are driven instead by a `strategic alignment' mechanism, whereby voters choose the party or candidate they believe is best placed to help them through the crisis. We confirm the validity of our mechanism with a survey experiment fielded during the pandemic.