Board closes polling places
NORRISTOWN » Calling it a “pandemic election plan,” Montgomery County officials on Monday approved a plan to temporarily reduce the number of polling places by 60 percent for the June 2 primary election in response to the COVID-19 outbreak that continues to grip the region.
The consolidation plan, approved by a 2-1 vote by the county commissioners sitting as
the county Board of Elections, will reduce the county’s polling places from 352 to 140. Commissioners Valerie Arkoosh and Kenneth E. Lawrence Jr., both Democrats, voted in favor of the plan. Republican Commissioner Joseph C. Gale opposed the final plan after an amendment to the plan he supported was not considered.
Under the plan, officials will move polling places to empty public school buildings for the primary election only. Most polling locations will host three or more precincts in one location.
It’s expected that the county will return to using 352 polling places during the November general election.
A letter explaining the changes will be mailed to every voter impacted by the changes. The changes also will be published on the county Voter Services website at www.montcopa.org/ voterservices
“This is a pandemic election plan and in many ways it is incongruent that we are going to have an in-person election on June 2 while we are still under stay-athome (orders) until June 4. But we are legally obligated to do so and for voters who choose not to vote by mail, who want to vote in-person, we are going to make sure that we have the safest election possible for them,” said Lawrence, chairman of the elections board.
“I heard feedback from several municipalities and I don’t think I received a positive comment about the plan. I don’t think anyone did. But the reality of it is this is a pandemic election plan. The primary consideration we have to take into account is providing buildings where the voters can be socially distant and where our poll workers can be as safe as possible,” Lawrence added.
Officials said those who are uncomfortable with voting in-person on June 2 can still go to www.votespa.com to request a mail-in ballot. The deadline to apply to vote by mail is May 26 and the ballot must be returned to voter services by 8 p.m. June 2.
The last day to register to vote for the primary election is May 18.
During the public meeting, which was held via video-conferencing technology, the commissioners heard from two speakers who asked the board to reconsider and amend the polling place consolidation plans for West Conshohocken and Rockledge boroughs, fearing an inconvenience for some voters in those locations.
Gale, vice chairman of the election board, put forth a motion to amend the proposed changes to reflect recommendations presented by those speakers but neither Lawrence nor Arkoosh seconded Gale’s motion and the amendment failed. Gale then voted against the proposed polling place changes.
Arkoosh acknowledged officials understand how disruptive the relocation of polling places may be for some voters.
“But we remain in the midst of a pandemic with numbers in our county, while they’re starting to improve, certainly have a ways to go before we will meet, at the very least, the governor’s guidelines to move from the red phase to the yellow phase,” Arkoosh said.
Gov. Tom Wolf drafted a color-coded plan to reopen the state that will measure the COVID-19 cases to determine if the target goal of an average of less than 50 cases per 100,000 individuals over the course of a 14day period is met.
In order to meet the governor’s target of less than 50 cases per 100,000 people, the county, which has a population of 830,915, would have to see a reduction to 415 cases over 14 days, for a daily average of 30 cases. Recently, the county had a daily average of about 187 cases.
Other factors to be considered in order to reopen are the area’s hospital utilization rates, the availability of tests and the development of a contact tracing program.
“We don’t know what things are going to look like a month from now but if we don’t act today, then it will be too late to make any changes by then. So, I think this is prudent. I think it is the right public health decision for holding an election during a pandemic,”
Arkoosh said.
Gale added “obviously these aren’t the ideal circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic we are facing however I’m pleased that the citizens of Montgomery County will have the opportunity to vote inperson on primary election day.”
“I also believe that it makes sense to utilize schools to the best ability that we can due to the fact that they haven’t been used for several months now and have enough parking and appropriate accommodations,” Gale said.
Since normal school operations are suspended for the remainder of the year, school buildings provide a space that provides the least chance of exposure to any individual not directly involved in election day activities, Arkoosh said.
“They have very large spaces, cafeterias and gymnasiums, all of which will be put to use. When we leave, there will be time to thoroughly clean those places so that the least amount of people are put in danger,” Arkoosh said.
County officials previously said the pandemic presented challenges for election officials regarding the number of polling places and the number of poll workers available to man the precincts.
Many of the county’s traditional polling places were located in long-term care facilities or other senior centers, particularly hard hit by the virus and which are not available for use during the primary election.
Officials added many poll workers declined to participate in the primary election out of fear of placing themselves at risk for the virus. So, officials said they had to draft an alternate plan for the primary election that would allow for social distancing and safe in-person voting procedures.
Officials said poll workers will be provided masks and gloves and officials expect to have face shields available for those poll workers who are required to interact more directly with the public.
Voting equipment will be sanitized prior to the opening of the polls and on a regular basis throughout the day. Floors and areas where lines could occur will be marked to remind those of the adequate space required for social distancing, officials said.
In March, Gov. Tom Wolf, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, signed legislation allowing counties to consolidate up to 60 percent of polling places in order to reduce the number of poll workers needed for the primary election.