Poll workers grapple with virus safety, Trump’s talk
In typical elections, poll workers help from setting up the polling place the night before election day to returning ballots and machines on election night. In between, poll workers sign voters in, ensuring they are in the right polling place and help voters use the machine, if needed.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and a polarizing election, poll workers have had to grapple with two additional elements: If voters will wear masks and practice social distancing and if voters will react to President Donald Trump’s call “to go into the polls and watch very carefully” during the first presidential debate.
Three inspectors, who are in charge of each polling location on election day, said they will be asking voters to wear a mask while waiting to vote and casting a ballot, and they will be ensuring that only credentialed people are inside the polling location and that voters aren’t harassed.
Michelle Fajman, director of the Lake County Election and Voter Registration Board, said inspectors will encourage voters to wear a mask at polling locations. There is a statewide mask mandate in effect, said a spokeswoman for Gov. Eric Holcomb’s office.
Fajman also said that the only people allowed inside a polling location are: The precinct board – made up of the inspectors, two judges and two clerks – voters and people with credentials, including poll watchers and media.
Once a voter casts a ballot, they have to leave the
polling location, Fajman said. People are allowed to gather 50 feet outside a polling location entrance and those people tend to be candidates or a member of a candidate’s team talking to voters about the issues, she said.
“If President Trump is telling his people to come and watch, they can’t,” Fajman said. “They’re not entitled to.”
Election officials are working with the Lake County Sheriff ’s Department and local police to ensure safe polling locations, Fajman said.
Rhonda Riddle, 55, is an East Chicago inspector, said she considered the COVID-19 pandemic when deciding to work this year, but she decided to do so because of the safety precautions like masks, gloves and sanitizing wipes provided during the primary election.
“I was prepared for it,” Riddle said. “Everybody cooperated, and I had no problem. Everything went smoothly.”
Natalie Ammons, a Gary inspector, said that as a 67-year-old woman she was concerned about COVID-19 during the primary. On top of that, the precinct board she works on has older workers, so she was concerned for their health as well.
But, after talking to her board, they decided to work the polls in the primary and general elections, Ammons said.
“We agreed that we were going to do it and we were going to be very strict about everything that went on,” Ammons said. “For the most part, we didn’t have people that showed up without the mask because they were just as cautious and as careful as we were.”
Ammons and Riddle said they don’t anticipate voters coming to a polling location without a mask, but they are prepared to remind voters to wear a mask. Alexandra Hay, 54, an inspector at a Schererville polling location, said the 2020 primary in June was her first time working the polls. While she is concerned about COVID-19, Hay said she felt it was important she work the polls in the general election – especially given the precautions taken during the primary election.
“I know that we need poll workers, we need people who approach the process with integrity,” Hay said.
“One reason why it’s important for me to work is because I want to make sure that we have people there who are taking the precautions seriously.”
Hay said she is concerned about voters who may decide not to wear a mask while voting because “we’ve seen a lot of extreme aggression from people who refuse to wear their masks” in the community. As inspector, Hay said she will have to enforce protocols as voters enter.
“I definitely have to gear myself up for the potential of conflict and confrontation should that happen,” Hay said. “Hopefully nobody will take this and think it’s their opportunity to try to make some kind of a point. Hopefully … they will have more respect for the process than that.”
Given Trump’s rhetoric, Hay said she is concerned about armed individuals standing around polling locations based on the “dog whistle language” the president uses.
“The most important thing is to not allow anybody to silence your voice and silence your opportunity to vote,” Hay said. “(Poll workers) are there to make sure that there is a fair, safe, peaceful voting experience.”