A poll worker wearing protective gear checked in a curbside voter outside Ashland Town Hall on Tuesday.
David Goldstein came to the polls at Ashland Town Hall Tuesday morning prepared to greet voters and hand out campaign material. In this new era of socially distant elections, that couldn’t happen.
“All the candidates would love for people to come up and talk to them,” said Goldstein, one of six contenders for three Town Council seats. But unlike in elections past, no voters were stopping by.
“I printed a lot of literature, but I haven’t given out anything,” he said, standing on the green in front of the Hanover County town’s municipal building on a chilly, cloudy day that felt more like fall than spring.
The global coronavirus pandemic put a new twist on Election Day.
Gone were the usual hugs, handshakes and handbill giveaways. Candidates observed strict social distancing. Poll workers dressed like first responders in protective gear, with masks, gloves, gowns and face-covering shields. Some residents took advantage of curbside voting. Hand sanitizer and wipes stood on tables inside, where polling booths constantly were cleaned. Voters kept pens after using them.
But many residents heeded the call to vote absentee, as did others in the other 114 municipal elections held across the state. A whopping 90,000-plus Virginians requested absentee ballots for the election — which was extended by two weeks because of the highly contagious virus — with registrars across the state reporting a heavy volume of applications.
Tuesday served as a test for the upcoming June 23 congressional primaries and the November general election. The results “show the coronavirus pandemic has made many voters wary of in-person voting,” according to the Virginia Public Access Project. “Absentee voting by mail was the preference of most residents in some cities and towns.”
Voters shouldn’t have to choose between their health and voting, as Gov. Ralph Northam repeatedly has said during his regular coronavirus press briefings. Extensive precautions were in place Tuesday to make polling places as safe as possible during this public health crisis. That should be repeated in upcoming elections.
Voters need to be aware of their options. The deadline to request an absentee ballot for next month’s election is Tuesday, June 16, by 5 p.m. For more details about voting absentee, contact the state Department of Elections at: https://www.elections.virginia.gov
Whether in-person or by absentee ballot, it’s important that you make your voice heard — and in a safe setting.
— Pamela Stallsmith
