Election officials strategize COVID- 19 mitigation efforts

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The coronavirus has upended everyday life in ways big and small. What happens when those disruptions overlap with voting?

Thousands of state and local election officials across the U. S are sharing ideas and making accommodations to try to ensure that voters and polling places are safe amid an unprecedented pandemic.

Some are finding ways to expand access to voter registration and ballot request forms. Others are testing new products, installing special equipment or scouting outdoor voting locations.

Here are virus- related obstacles voters could face during this unprecedented presidential election year along with some of the solutions being tried.

What if you need a voter registration form or absentee ballot application and all the normal go- to places are closed or open by appointment only? It’s a problem nationwide.

The most recent American Library Association survey found that 62% of U. S. libraries, which are sources for voting documents, were fully closed, while another 26% were offering only curbside service. Likewise, the vast majority of state motor vehicle departments — the largest source of voter registrations nationally and of the voter IDs needed in some states — are operating on limited hours, at reduced capacity or by appointment only, according to the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. Appointments in New Mexico, as just one example, are being scheduled two months out.

Benjamin Hovland, chairman of the U. S. Election Assistance Commission, said 40 states have online voter registration, a particular benefit during the pandemic. The commission has beefed up its website, www. vote. gov, with links to register in all 50 states.

Among states, Ohio has earned points for its creativity. Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose struck partnerships with grocers and newspapers to distribute absentee ballot applications this spring, and he’s tapped breweries to promote voter registration in the fall: “Beer drinking and democracy go together,” he said of the program, noting the pivotal role of pubs in Colonial America.

Perhaps the most pressing worry of most voters is how polling places will be kept virusfree. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study conducted after Wisconsin’s primary — the first in- person election after states began issuing stay- at- home orders — found 37 of the state’s new COVID- 19 cases in the days after the election were among voters, a warning to other states.

As an example of how seriously they’re responding, California issued 50 pages of instructions to its election boards last month calling for site- specific virus prevention plans and extensive training. That’s on top of CDC- recommended guidelines that include social distancing, wearing masks and frequent handwashing.

In Maine, single- use pens have replaced the usual “I Voted” stickers for marking the occasion Nov. 3. South Carolina has piloted ear swabs for touchscreen voting, while Indiana and Louisiana are among states offering latex finger coverings. Voters might see Plexiglas shields at some check- in tables and poll workers dressed head- to- toe in protective gear. Voting machines and poll books will be sanitized on a regular schedule throughout the day.

Public- private partnerships also are taking shape. Anheuser- Busch, the beermaker, is distributing 8 million ounces of hand sanitizer in coordination with the National Association of State Election Directors and others.

Sanitizer is expected to be placed liberally around polling places. In Ohio, manufacturer RB Sigma has donated more than 450,000 surgical masks for use by poll workers and voters.