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Safety measures in place for the July primary runoff, special elections
The Travis County Clerk's Office is encouraging people to vote by mail during this pandemic.
AUSTIN, Texas - Travis County Clerk’s office has been swamped with mail-in ballot applications; Dana DeBeauvoir said they’ve received about 25,000.
“We are encouraging everyone who can vote by mail this election because coming into a polling place has a risk for some people,” said DeBeauvoir. “If you are going to come into polling places to vote Travis County Elections want to make it as absolutely safe as possible.”
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Travis County is going to expand its number of polling places for the July primary runoff and special election for the Senate District 14 vacancy. Each polling place will have a kit filled with items like masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer. Desks will have plexiglass to help protect poll workers and voters will utilize finger cots and disposable tools to use the voting equipment.
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The elections division is also increasing the number of poll workers after the March primaries turnout. DeBeauvoir said about 80 poll workers did not show because of fears of the coronavirus. Her office has made a concerted effort to hire additional workers who are not part of the vulnerable population impacted by the virus and utilize workers who are to do other tasks that will not put them at risk.
“We are thrilled to have this new fusion of that kind of talent to help us conduct elections,” DeBeauvoir said. “What we would do is encourage people to vote early, come in and vote during the early voting. And if you want to wait until election day, go early in the day. That way everyone gets the best chance at having a smooth experience at the polls.”
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The upcoming ballot is short, so DeBeauvoir said the voting process will be fast. There will be lines outside to minimize the number of people voting and maintain social distancing. Grocery stores will not be utilized in this election to maintain social distance.
For a complete list of voting locations, click here.
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