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Today's start of early voting in Shelby County for the August 6th primary comes with a host of new safety measures designed to protect voters and poll workers from COVID-19.Workers at all 26 early voting sites will have face masks, shields, gloves and hand sanitizer. They’ll be stationed behind plexiglass and provide single-use pens.
The public is being asked to wear facial coverings per county mandate, but extra masks will be on hand, along with disposable styluses to avoid direct contact with the machines.
Election Commission administrator Linda Phillips says the new protocols, including social distancing, may create lines. “We will be tweeting out regularly during early voting...to alert voters to places where there may be lines so they can choose another site if they choose or perhaps another time,” she said.
About 13,000 people have already opted for absentee ballots for the primary. In a normal year, that number is closer to 1,000, buta state lawsuit made absentee voting an option available to mostduring the pandemic. Voting advocates are still fighting a requirement that first-time voters request a mail-in ballot in person.
Eligible voters have until July 30 to request an absentee ballot, but Phillips says not to wait until the last minute. It can take several days to process the request, and ballots are due August 6, via mail. They cannot be dropped off in person.
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