Texas voters should wear masks, bring hand sanitizer to the polls amid COVID, state says
For Texans planning to cast their ballot at the polls amid the novel coronavirus’ outbreak, the Secretary of State’s Office recommended Tuesday that voters consider wearing a face mask and bring their own hand sanitizer and pen or stylus.
The Texas Secretary of State’s Office released an eight-page checklist of “minimum recommended health protocols” for voters and election officials Tuesday. The guidance was developed with input from the Texas Department of State Health Services, and it features recommendations like maintaining six feet of separation and curbside voting if voters are exhibiting symptoms associated with COVID-19.
The guidance on visiting the polls comes as the state battles multiple lawsuits in state and federal courts over expanding access to mail-in ballots amid the pandemic. A back-and-forth legal battle has ensued, with multiple starts and stops on whether any Texan can qualify to vote by mail.
Meanwhile, the July 14 elections inch closer, with early voting set to begin in a little over a month on June 29.
Before heading to a polling place, voters and poll workers should screen themselves for symptoms, the guidance recommends. If voters have recently been in contact with a confirmed case, or are exhibiting any COVID-19 symptoms, including cough, fever, shortness of breath, or loss of taste or smell, then they should contact their local election officials about curbside voting.
Poll workers with symptoms may not return to work until they’ve met various recovery requirements, or obtained a doctor’s note clearing them ahead of time.
Those who cast their ballot in person should bring hand sanitizer and a device to mark their ballot, like a stylus, pen or pencil, and both poll workers and voters should consider wearing face masks.
“Election workers are not required to ask a voter to remove their face covering upon check-in. However, if an election judge is not able to determine the voter’s identity while wearing a face covering, the election judge has discretion to ask the voter to lower or remove their face covering,” the guidance notes.
Voting stations should also be spaced six feet apart, surfaces should regularly be disinfected and high-traffic polling places should consider devoting a worker to ensuring social distancing guidelines are followed.
The guidance also stresses that people 65 years or older who are at a greater risk of contracting COVID-19 should stay home as much as possible and “may consider” requesting a mail-in ballot.
In order to qualify to vote by mail under Texas law, voters must submit an application and be 65 or older, disabled, out of the county on Election Day and during in-person early voting, or be confined in jail.
Last week, a panel of judges from the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans sided with Attorney General Ken Paxton and granted an administrative stay of U.S. District Judge Fred Biery’s order that would have allowed eligible Texas voters, regardless of their age, to qualify for a mail-in ballot to avoid contracting the novel coronavirus amid the pandemic.
A week before that, the Texas Supreme Court had stayed a the 14th Court of Appeals decision that upheld a lower court’s ruling. In April, state district Judge Tim Sulak ruled in favor of the Texas Democratic Party and voters suing the state, and issued a temporary injunction allowing Texans who lack immunity to the novel coronavirus to cite the disability category under state law in order to request a mail-in ballot.
Since the onset of the pandemic, legal battles have ensued over concerns with voters flocking to potentially crowded polls in-person amid the pandemic.
Meanwhile, attorneys for the state have argued that state leaders are taking the necessary precautions to ensure voters will be safe casting their ballot at the polls — such as extending the early voting period by a week — and that an expansion of mail-in ballot access will lead to an increase in voter fraud.
Paxton has said that while a person ill with COVID-19 would qualify for a mail-in ballot, a fear of contracting the virus would not meet the state’s eligibility requirements. He has warned local officials that they could be subject to criminal sanctions if they advise voters who normally aren’t eligible to apply for mail-in ballots.
The back-and-forth legal battle has left local election officials in limbo as they wait for a final decision. Abbott has previously said he expects the issue to reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
“The virus that causes COVID-19 is still circulating in our communities,” the Secretary of State’s guidance reads. “We should continue to undertake practices that protect our communities.”
This story was originally published May 26, 2020 at 5:43 PM.
