Ohio boards of elections stock masks, other sanitary supplies
Ohio’s county boards of electionsthatwereleft scrambling to fifind hand sanitizer, glovesandothersanitarysupplies for theprimary election noware flflushwith personal protective equipment for the general election.
The state’s 88 county boardsreportedhavingample supplies of most of the personal protective equipment and sanitary supplies that OhioSecretaryof StateFrank LaRose’s offiffice asked about in a recent survey.
That’s a significant shift from the run-up to the primary. In the days before in- person voting was scheduled to begin on March 17, boards were thinking about how they would ration the limited supplies they had on hand.
But their
needs changed signifificantlywhenGov. Mike DeWine’s administration issued an order to close the polls hours before theywere set to open for in-personvoting, and the state shifted to a mostly by-mail election.
Finger cots meant to protect voters using touch screens, alcohol wipes and other equipment that was to be used for in-person voting in the primary instead was heldfor the general election, andboards hadmore time to boost their stock of supplies.
“We kind of started off ahead of the game as far as getting readyforNovember,” saidAaronOckerman, executivedirector of theOhioAssociation of Election Offifficials.
Out of 88 boards of elections, 34reportedtoLaRose’s offiffice that they already are fully stocked with the personal protective equipment and sanitary supplies they will need for the election, according to data obtained via a public records request.
At least 75 say they already have enoughmasks and face shields, and 74 have enough gowns.
So far, 21 still need more hand sanitizer and 19 still neededmore isopropyl alcohol.
Lastmonth, LaRose’soffiffice issuedboardsa48-pointguidance that included requirements forusingpersonal protective equipment, including equipping elections offifficials with a cloth mask or face shield, requiring hand sanitizer and other supplies at polling places and cleaning election equipment.
LaRosehassaidthatastatewide mask mandate would apply to polling places on Election Day, but he would not direct poll workers to enforce it or deny a voter the chance to vote in-person if they refused to wear one.