Crow Wing County and local election officials are taking steps to ensure voter and election judge safety in polling places with the Tuesday, Aug. 11, state primary election.
“With that in mind, voters will see some differences when they go to the polls,” Crow Wing County Administrative Services Director Deborah Erickson stated in a news release.
There will be hand-sanitizing stations at the entrance and exit of the polling place, and voters are encouraged to sanitize when they enter the polling place and when they are finished voting.
Masks will be required in the polling place. Voters who arrive at the polling place without a mask will be offered one free of charge at the door, or they can do curbside voting.
There will be Plexiglas barriers at some of the stations at the polling places, and additional cleaning and disinfecting of surfaces will be done throughout the day.
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“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 stated.
A pen will be provided upon arrival at the polling place to voters to use at each of the required stations to sign the roster and mark their ballot. The pen will be collected in a designated box after voting and 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 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,” Erickson said.
Some polling locations have changed for this year due to COVID-19 related concerns. Visit pollfinder.sos.state.mn.us to find a polling place location. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Those who vote by absentee ballot or who reside in a mail ballot precinct should allow at least four business days for delivery.
The Crow Wing County Historic Courthouse at 326 Laurel St. in Brainerd also serves as the polling place for voters from mail ballot precincts who need to register and vote on election day. The courthouse polling hours will be open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Eligible voters who need to register will need to provide proof of residence in their precinct to be eligible to register and vote. More information can be found at https://bit.ly/33nOoiJ .
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For more information, visit crowwing.us/110/Elections or call 218-824-1051.
