Crow Wing County Officials Release Safety Guidelines for Upcoming Primary Election

With the August 11th state primary election soon approaching, Crow Wing County and local election officials have released to the public their COVID-19 safety guidelines to ensure voter and election judge safety in all polling places.

“Election officials at the state, county and local levels have been working together to provide a safe environment for both voters and election judges,” stated Crow Wing County administrative services director Deborah Erickson. “With that in mind, voters will see some differences when they go to the polls.”

Crow Wing County listed the following safety measurements:

• All polling places will have hand sanitizer stations at the entrance and exit of the polling place and voters are encouraged to sanitize when they come into the polling place as well as when they are finished voting.
• In accordance with Executive Order 20-81, masks will be required to be worn in the polling place by both voters and election judges. Voters who arrive at the polling place without a mask will be offered one free of charge at the door, or offered an opportunity to do a curbside voting process if they wish.
• Voters will also note additional protective protocols in the polling places including plexiglass barriers at some of the stations and additional cleaning and disinfecting of surfaces being done throughout the day.
• As voters enter the polling place, they will be provided a pen they will use during their time in the polling place. Voters will use that pen at each of the required
  station to sign the roster and mark their ballot, then drop their pen in the provided box after completing their voting. The pens will then be sanitized before being used again.
• Voters are asked to adhere to social distancing guidelines while in the polling place and election judges will provide additional guidance as needed.

“We’ve kept safety in mind when developing protocols and procedures this year and voters who choose to vote at their polling place will have a safe environment to do so,” Erickson noted. “We ask voters to have patience with the process and recognize it may take a little more time to vote this year as the sanitizing procedures will need to be done in between voters.”