CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Safety protocols are in place by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources and personal protective equipment is set to be used at the over 1,700 precincts in West Virginia on Election Day Tuesday.
More than 9,000 poll workers in the Mountain State were trained in the weeks and months leading up to the General Election with an emphasis on health and safety as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
Along with Secretary of State Mac Warner’s office, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) has laid out guidance for polling locations and voters.
As the 10-day early voting period in West Virginia ended Oct. 31, Warner told MetroNews that voting in-person this election has been safe and will continue to be Tuesday.
“People are starting to get accustomed to wearing their masks, getting out of the house, letting life continue. People are shopping at grocery stores, Walmart, Lowe’s, and so forth,” he said.
“People should feel just as safe, if not safer going to the polls because at the polls the people will have been trained and the PPE will be in place.”
VIEW: Personal protective equipment numbers at each precinctÂ
The protocols begin with mask or face coverings being required to vote, as that follows Gov. Jim Justice’s executive order for indoor face-covering in confined spaces. Polling places will have space set up to maintain social distancing whether waiting in line to vote or voting in booths.
Connie Perry, a longtime poll worker in Kanawha County told MetroNews that going to ‘election school’ is important every year but there was a new booklet with a new set of rules for Tuesday with security health measures.
Poll workers were taught how to open the polls safely, properly maintain social distancing at the site, laying out the personal protective equipment (PPE) and checking the equipment. Traditional training included procedures for medical emergencies, cyber attacks and power outages.
“Everyone has to wear their mask, they are supposed to not come in with a fever. There are gloves if you want them, you can have your own pencil or pen and keep it. Of course, there will be social distancing,” she said.
In Wood County, precincts will have Q-tips in place of a pencil or pen. County Clerk Mark Rhodes told MetroNews that is with the idea of the voter using any kind of marker as a stylist on the voting equipment and not having to physically touch the screens with fingers.
He said Wood County is well set with PPE including the ability to provide masks and face coverings to voters and having hand sanitizer at every polling location. The county received 400 face masks from the state.
According to Warner’s office more than 17,600 face masks and coverings have been delivered by Liberty Distributors to precincts around the state. Warner’s office also delivered 87 boxes of gloves, 168 cases of hand sanitizer and 340 cases of pens to polling places.
Rhodes encourages everyone to do their part.
“It’s the individual’s responsibility to make sure they take precautions. We are going to do what we can as far as disinfecting goes,” he said.
VIEW: DHHR guidance for Election Day
According to Warner, individuals across the board took responsibility in June as there were no COVID-19 cases associated with the primary election. He credited the county clerks for ordering the proper amount of PPE, poll workers for executing the training and the voters for following guidelines.
During the 10-day early in-person voting period for the General Election, there had been one virus case reported that was associated with a voting precinct in Nitro.
After a poll worker tested positive, the precinct was closed for the next day and cleaned. The Kanawha-Charleston Health Department deemed low-risk exposure in that location to any voters who had been there.
New poll workers were put into place at the annex of the Nitro Police Department. Warner said that is one of the reasons the state has 4,500 auxiliary poll workers in backup. Warner called the state in ‘real good shape’ with workers.
There are 1,708 polling locations in West Virginia, averaging around five poll workers per site. Warner asked the voters to remember the guidelines of each precinct and respect the property, whether that may be a school, church or fire hall.
“They have to bring their mask, they have to wear their mask. If not, we have masks to provide them. That is the most significant change but it really isn’t because people more their masks during the primary,” Warner said.
“Now it’s more of an emphatic wear your mask for both early voting and Election Day.”
Warner’s office expects that more than 400,000 voters will cast a ballot in-person for the General Election, including the early voting period.