Coronavirus spike creates concerns for polling places
IOWA CITY, Iowa — A surge in corona virus cases across the country, including in key presidential battleground states, is creating mounting health and logistical concerns for voters, poll workers and political parties ahead of Election Day.
In Iowa, where both presidential campaigns are competing feverishly, county officials said they were preparing for scores of confirmed or potentially infected people to vote curbside. It's an option typically used by disabled people that must be available outside every polling place.
L inn County Supervisor Stacey Walker, in Cedar Rapids, encouraged people to cast their ballot but said they should take safety precautions at polling places to protect themselves and their neighbors.
“We can' t afford to have Election Day serve as a super spreading event across the state and country,” he said.
At a news conference this past week, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate said his office had distributed 145,000 gloves, 200,000 masks and 11,000 social- distancing markers for use by voters and poll workers.
In Wisconsin, Gov. Tony Evers sought to assure voters in the critical swing state that going to the polls would not be risky, even as officials announced more t han 5,000 new confirmed corona virus cases on Friday.
“For those who are voting in person now, I believe it's safe,” Evers said, adding that polling places have adequate supplies to protect voters.
Across the country, Republicans worked to downplay any concerns that health risks will keep some of their voters home, after Democrats heavily promoted mailin and early in-person balloting to their voters.
Republicans are countin go na huge Election Day turnout among their supporters to offset the big leads in early voting among Democrats in states that are pivotal to the presidential race.
“If you were worried about voting at the polls on Election Day, you've probably already voted,” said John March, a spokesman for the Republican Party of Virginia.
Like many other states, Iowa this week reported its highest number of average daily new cases and hospitalizations to date.
In Cedar Rapids, public health officials called a news conference Friday to express alarm at the spike in cases in L inn County, including a single- day high reported Thursday of more than 200. They urged residents to avoid gatherings while advising those who visit polling places to wear masks, stay 6 feet apart and wash their hands afterward.
Linn County Auditor Joel Miller said a woman who acknowledged she was positive f or coronavirus voted curbside Thursday at am all where early voting is taking place, the first known infected voter in the county. Poll workers gave her a face shield and gloves and isolated everything she touched, he said.