nothin Safety Measures In Place For Primary Election | New Haven Independent

Safety Measures In Place For Primary Election

Thomas Breen Photo

Registrar Evans: Focus on keeping people safe.

New Haven voters who turn out for the Aug. 11 presidential primaries can expect to see some changes: Poll workers will wear protective gowns and masks. They will hold the door so voters don’t have to touch the handle. Someone will squirt sanitizer into their hands. Poll workers’ temperatures will be taken. Voters will have to maintain six feet distance from each other.

City clerk Michael Smart and the Democratic Registrar of Voters Shannel Evans revealed those plans Thursday night during a virtual workshop held by the Board of Alders City Service and Environmental Policy Committee.

They were questioned by alders determined to run a smooth a primary. Though the election’s results are considered a foregone conclusion — Joe Biden and Donald Trump are their parties’ presumptive nominees already; no local candidates are on the ballot — the primary is viewed as a testrun to ensure that New Haven has adequate safety protocols and absentee voting procedures needed for the busier general election on Nov. 3.

Paul Bass photo

Voters experiences hours-long wait times during the 2016 presidential election in New Haven.

Connecticut will be the last state to hold a Democratic presidential primary or caucus, after the governor postponed the primary election twice due to the pandemic.

I view the primary as a great source of practice for the general election,” Downtown Alder Abigail Roth said during the meeting.

Roth recalled standing in a long line of voters on the narrow, crowded sidewalk outside the 200 Orange St. polling station during the 2016 presidential election. She emphasized the importance of preventing overcrowding at voting locations during both the primary and the presidential election.

Roth expressed worry that social distancing requirements will lead to a greater possibility of overcrowding.

We have a huge presidential election in November, and I think we’re at risk if we don’t look really carefully at what happens in the primary and think, Does this location work for the number of people showing up at the general election?’” Roth said. We can’t risk chaos. The stakes are too high in this election.”

On the 2016 presidential election day, New Haven voters waited for hours in line, polling stations ran out of ballots, and the city experienced a week-long delay in tabulating official results.

Part of Christine Bartlett-Josie’s job is to ensure that history does not repeat itself. Bartlett-Josie is a Connecticut Secretary of State representative assigned to oversee primary elections in the Third U.S. Congressional District, which includes New Haven.

The Secretary of State’s office is concerned with the last couple of elections — it’s been a mess in New Haven. And we do not want that to happen” again, said Bartlett-Josie during the meeting.

Bartlett-Josie emphasized the importance of ensuring the polling stations are adequately staffed. Getting enough poll workers recruited will be a challenge, especially since the Election Day staff usually includes a significant number of older people over the age of 65, who are at greater risk of suffering severe illness from Covid-19.

Ko Lyn Cheang photo

Thursday night’s City Service and Environmental Policy Committee meeting.

Registrar Evans said her staff has recruited about 80 percent of the required number of poll workers. Evans expects to have 585 poll workers, including more than 85 back-up workers, working the primary.

Poll workers will wear protective gowns, be given masks, and have their temperature taken when they show up to work at 5 a.m.

I just want our poll workers to be safe. They’re the ones risking their lives for 16 hours,” said Evans.

Absentee ballots for all

Gov. Ned Lamont 20 May 20 signed an executive order allowing all registered voters in Connecticut to cast absentee ballots in the Aug. 11 presidential primaries. This move was intended to protect people’s right to vote without forcing them to risk their health by showing up to vote in person during the Covid-19 pandemic.

All registered voters in Connecticut will receive applications for absentee ballots in the coming days for the upcoming presidential primary election. They may submit them until the day of voting. However, City Clerk Smart advised during the meeting that voters submit their applications by the Saturday before the election, which takes place on a Tuesday, in order to receive their absentee ballots in time.

July 21, absentee ballots will be sent out beginning July 21. Voters can drop their ballots off in person at an absentee ballot dropbox that will be placed in front of 200 Orange St. They can also mail the ballots using the postage-paid return envelope included in the application.

It is unclear how high voter turnout will b, given that the Democrat and Republican presidential candidates have already been decided. Smart estimated that voter turnout for the primary is usually around 25 to 30 percent. But the election will be an important one nonetheless, even if only as a trial run for the presidential contest in November.

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