COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Coronavirus has replaced everyday life, young and old. What happens when these interruptions overlap with voting? Thousands of local and state election officials in the United States are sharing concepts and taking steps to stay as voters and polling stations amid an unprecedented pandemic.
Some are locating tactics to expand access to voter registration and application forms. Others are testing new products, installing special appliances or in outdoor polling places.
Here are the virus-related barriers that the electorate may face in this unprecedented election year, as well as some of the proven responses:
CLOSURES AND HOURS REMAINING
Benjamin Hovland, chairman of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, said 40 states had online voter registrations, a specific merit of the pandemic. The commission has strengthened its website, www.vote.passv, with links to log in to all 50 states. Among the states, Ohio gained trouble for his creativity. Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose partnered with grocery stores and newspapers to distribute mail-ordered voting requests this spring, and asked breweries to advertise voter registration in the fall: “Drink beer and democracy go hand in hand,” he said of the program. , highlighting the fundamental role of pubs in colonial America.
CONTAMINATION OF SELECTION SITES
Perhaps the maximum of the highest urgent fear of the highest electorate is how polling stations will remain virus-free. A CDC review conducted after the Wisconsin primary, the first face-to-face election after states began issuing orders to stay at home, found that 37 of the state’s new COVID-19 instances in the days after the election were among the electorate, a warning. to other states.
As an example of the seriousness with which they are responding, last month California issued 50 pages of commando to its election committees calling for site-specific virus prevention plans and in-depth training. This is in addition to the CDC-recommended rules that come with social distance, dressed in mask and common hand washing.
In Maine, single-use pens replaced the same old “I Voted” stickers to mark the instance on November 3. South Carolina has tested ear swabs for touchscreen voting, while Indiana and Louisiana are among the states that provide latex finger covers. Voters can see plexiglass shields at some registration tables and voting staff dressed from head to toe in protective clothing. Voting machines and voting books will be disinfected throughout the day.
Public-private partnerships are also taking shape. Anheuser-Busch, the brewer, distributes 8 million hand sanitizer in coordination with the National Association of State Electoral Directors and others. The disinfectant is expected to be generously installed around polling stations. In Ohio, manufacturer RB Sigma donated more than 450,000 surgical masks for election officials and voters to use.
SICK OR CUARANTIE VOTERS
What if you plan to vote in person but receive a positive COVID-19 diagnosis, and it’s too late to request a mail-in ballot? Or perhaps you’ve traveled out-of-state and gotten held up by a virus-related travel restriction.
Advance planning to vote in advance or by mail remains the most productive way to avoid being run into a virus diagnosis, quarantine, or restriction before Election Day, according to experts. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said his state was running to open more early voting locations to address concerns.
Dealing with voters who are sick is nothing new. In Alaska, for example, anyone unable to vote in person because of age, illness or a disability can appoint a personal representative to pick up and deliver their ballot. Many states provide similar options for emergencies — though often not right up until Election Day. If you simply have no choice, election officials say to show up at your polling place, and you will be accommodated. Separate voting stations, far from the rest, are being set up where possible to accommodate those who know or suspect they’re infected with the virus and decide to self-report.
Ari Schaffer, spokesman for Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, said State Farm Arena in Atlanta is large enough to have a separate polling station for those with a positive COVID-19 test, not all polling stations are.
In Iowa, curbside voting already available to voters with disabilities was expanded to other vulnerable voters during the primary. Polling locations also were consolidated in some cases into larger venues, such as school gymnasiums, auditoriums and stadiums, to allow for social distancing.
WHAT ABOUT UNMASKED VOTERS?
What if you, or some other voter, decide not to wear a mask, as is the case with almost all election and fitness officials?
States sometimes don’t ask for a mask on Election Day because voting is a right. The maximum non-unusual situation is that a mask is presented with a mask for the electorate who refuses to wear a mask. If they refuse, they will be directed to an electoral college away from other voters, if possible. In some places, no other electorate would be allowed to enter until the user voted.
All virus-related precautions that state apply are probably maximum to increase the average voting time. Here’s another explanation for why to consider the recommendation that state and local electoral governments give at most this year: Put yourself in a position to vote and prepare early.
Associated Press writers Bryan Anderson in Raleigh, N.C.; Cedar Attanasio in Sante Fe, N.M.; Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska; and Kate Brumbeck in Atlanta contributed to this report.