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Voting in a Pandemic: A Look at Safety Precautions for Today's Primary Elections

NPR

Voters across Virginia will vote in primary elections today – casting ballots during a pandemic.

Add another category to the list of essential workers: election officials. When voters show up to the polls without a mask, election officials cannot ask them to wear one, and voters must be allowed to cast a ballot. 

“We cannot turn a voter away if they do not have a mask on,” says Christine Gibbons, registrar in Lynchburg. “It has been a concern for me, personally. We’re asking our staff and our election officials to be in front of voters, and the voters sometimes choose to wear a mask or not to wear a mask.”

Registrars across Virginia are breaking out the hand sanitizer and the Plexiglas shields in an effort to create an environment that’s as safe as possible for voting. Andrew Cochran is registrar in Roanoke, and he says one of his precincts will have drive-thru voting.

“We check them into the poll book," Cochran explains. "Then they will drive forward to receive their ballot, and then they will mark their ballot, and then they will hand the privacy folder back to the election officer who will insert it face down into the ballot scanner in full view of the voter.”

And then there’s the all-important sticker at the end. Some registrars say it’s too dangerous, and they’re saving all those “I voted” stickers for future elections. Others have figured out a way to distribute the stickers in a way that reduces contact between voters and poll workers.

This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.

Michael Pope is an author and journalist who lives in Old Town Alexandria.
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