Here’s what Tarrant election officials are doing to keep voters safe during COVID-19
As coronavirus cases continue to grow, election officials are working to make polling sites as safe as they can for voters casting ballots in the July 14 primary runoff and city of Fort Worth election.
Social distancing, masks, hand sanitizer — and voters studying up on the issue to move in and out as quickly as possible — will be key, Tarrant County officials say.
“We are trying to achieve a contactless experience,” said Heider Garcia, Tarrant County’s election administrator.
Early voting runs from Monday-July 10.
Anyone heading to polls in Tarrant County is being asked to wear a mask, but officials note that no one is required to do that. If you show up without a mask, and want one, each polling site should have a limited number of masks to share with voters.
Voters will be greeted at polling sites with the familiar tape on the floor, marking off spots for people to stand in line that are 6 feet apart.
They ask that you use hand sanitizer there, before handing your ID to the poll worker. If the poll worker can’t recognize a voter wearing a mask, they may ask that person to pull it down or remove it just long enough to confirm their identity.
Styluses will be sanitized, and election workers will try to space out machines as much as possible, but the distance between machines may be limited by the size of the polling sites.
Poll workers are being asked to wipe down all the machines to sanitize them at least once an hour.
Because of the novel coronavirus, “we recommend if you can not bring your kids, it might be better,” Garcia said.
And if voters review sample ballots on the Tarrant County website before heading to the polls, they should be able to get in and out quicker than if they didn’t.
“The faster you are, the less exposed you are,” Garcia said.
Voting options
The Texas Secretary of State’s Office has released an eight-page checklist of “minimum recommended health protocols” for voters and election officials. It notes that voters may want to bring their own hand sanitizer, mask and stylus to the polls.
The state agency also has been working with election officials across the state to set up proper safety protocols.
They ask voters to self screen before heading to the polls. But even if a person comes in showing symptoms of coronavirus, “we are not going to refuse somebody to vote,” Christina Adkins, a staff attorney with the Texas Secretary of State, said during a recent League of Women Voters webinar.
“Please, please, please wear a mask,” she said, noting that it’s not just for the individual voter’s safety, but also for poll workers and those who can’t wear a mask.
State and local officials suggest anyone with COVID-19 symptoms may want to consider curbside voting, so they can stay in their car and cast their ballot from there.
Curbside voting lets any voter, particularly those who have a hard time walking or standing, cast a ballot from their car.
Mail in ballots also are an option. State law says that to qualify to vote by mail under Texas law, voters must be 65 or older, disabled, confined in jail but still eligible to vote or out of the county during early voting and on Election Day.
On the ballot
Here’s a look at what will be on the July 14 runoff and local election ballot in Tarrant County.
▪ Democrats will choose between Mary “MJ” Hegar and Royce West for U.S. Senate; Kim Olson and Candace Valenzuela for U.S. Rep. District 24; Roberto R. “Beto” Alonzo and Chrysta Castañeda for Railroad Commissioner; and John Wright and Pedro “Pete” Munoz for County Constable Precinct 5.
▪ Republicans will choose between: Elizabeth Beach and Brian Walker for the 2nd Court of Appeals District Place 7 and Jonathan Grummer and John Brieger for Precinct Chair 3990.
▪ Fort Worth residents will vote whether to continue the Fort Worth Crime Control and Prevention District sales tax for 10 years.
“It’s a short ballot,” Garcia said. “It should be a fairly quick experience.”
To look at a sample ballot, go to the Tarrant Elections website at tarrantcounty.com/elections.
For information about voting, call the Tarrant County Elections Center at 817-831-8683.
