Bob Russikoff wears a mask and gloves to vote in the special election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives in Bensalem. Russikoff voted at Cecelia Snyder Middle School, where poll workers said turnout was low, but better than expected under the circumstances.
Emma Lee / WHYY
Emma Lee / WHYY
Bob Russikoff wears a mask and gloves to vote in the special election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives in Bensalem. Russikoff voted at Cecelia Snyder Middle School, where poll workers said turnout was low, but better than expected under the circumstances.
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Elections officials across the state are bracing for a walk-out of sorts. Not technically a walk-out but a no-show.
With the current coronavirus pandemic still ratcheting up the count of positive cases and deaths across Pennsylvania, election officials are worried that poll workers – all of whom are volunteers – are thinking twice about working on June 2, the newly designated primary date.
The prospect is pushing up against the idea of further consolidating polling places.
The underlying reason: Poll workers tend to be older individuals – typically retired – and as such, they belong to one of the most COVID-19 vulnerable demographics.
Election officials are concerned that with the lethal virus still a threat, poll workers will decide to stay home on election day rather than risk exposure to the deadly virus.
“I‘m in touch with inspectors and judges to see what their comfort level is and I can tell you right now today I‘m going to be missing 30 percent of poll workers,” said Jerry Feaser, director of the Dauphin County Office of Elections and Voter Registration.
“That varies from poll workers not willing to serve given the conditions to precincts where maybe a handful of poll workers would be missing.”
Gov. Tom Wolf in March signed legislation to move the primary, originally scheduled to be held Tuesday, to June 2. The new law allows counties to consolidate up to 60 percent of polling places.
Under the new law, county election officials must consolidate polling places no later than 20 days prior to the primary election.
The practical application of that directive is engendering different options – if not opinions across the state.
Densely populated counties such as Allegheny, for instance, which has about 1,300 polling places, are pushing to reduce the number of polling places to fewer than 200.
But even smaller county electorates are weighing the realities brought on by a coronavirus weary public.
Already across Pennsylvania, poll workers have called off ahead of the primary, expressing to country officials fears that they will be exposed to the virus while working with the public.
“I‘m 69 and I have a lot of friends working the polls, many great people, very dedicated. They take their job seriously,” said Doug Hoke, a York County Commissioner. “But this is a very unusual time and it’s a threatening virus. I don’t want to see us get to the last minute and find out that we are in this situation.”
Hoke said he is encouraging voters to use the no-excuse mail-in ballot, but thinks that further reduction of polling places may be necessary.
“We have 161 polling places and we already have some difficulty maintaining them with ADA (the Americans with Disabilities Act),” he said. “Some are very, very small organizations with 500 voters. Combining some of them for a very convenient place to poll probably makes a lot of sense under this circumstance.”
Feaser said Dauphin County managed to hold 19 training sessions for poll workers just in time before the ban on large group gatherings went into effect under the emergency pandemic restrictions.
With approximately 159,000 voters eligible to vote in the primary, Feaser said Dauphin County may not have an option but to further consolidate polling places
“We would have to,” he said. “A couple of boards are raring to go but those are few and far in between.”
Feaser expects his poll capacity to be down 30 percent “if things don’t improve.”
Elections officials are having to work around restrictions on large public venues that have historically served as polling places, including schools, libraries and municipal buildings.
Feaser said he is looking to identify alternate locations for six precincts, while an additional 16 are in the “wait and see” mode as far as their readiness for primary day.
“Come May 1, we may have a little gap to fill or a whole lot,” he said.
The whole state of affairs has fueled concerns about the primary and its integrity. Chief among those concerns is voter disenfranchisement.
“We know that counties are trying to balance the logistical restrictions of running an election during a pandemic with the need to ensure voting is accessible,” said Suzanne Almeida, Redistricting and Representation Counsel for Common Cause, a progressive organization. “The most important thing is that voters aren’t disenfranchised.”
Almeida said that means that counties need to be careful when consolidating polling places to use places that are accessible, within a reasonable distance from the old polling place, and easily reachable by public transportation.
“Counties also must provide clear information to voters about where their polling place will be, including signage, information on a website, and possibly mailing information to every affected voter,” she said.
Indeed, that is included in the letter of the law.
Under the new law, two or more precincts may locate their polling place within the same building, but there must be a clear delineation of each precinct. These emergency guidelines are set to expire after the primary election and normal procedures to resume for the upcoming general election in November.
Still, Rogette Harris, chairwoman of the Dauphin County Democrats, and the only African American to hold such a post in Pennsylvania, remains concerned that further consolidation would have adverse impacts on communities of color.
“My biggest concern is that there is enough time to alert people of the changes,” she said. “You’ll have some people who go to the old poll and they might not take the time to find the new polling place. It’s about communication. It’s messaging.”
She also has concerns about transportation – meaning voters who live in low-income areas being unable to get to new polling places.
“We want to make sure we don’t disenfranchise any communities,” Harris said. “I ‘m hoping that as these decisions are made, that all communities are included in the discussion. My concern is that we make sure all voices are included and that decisions are not made based on the voices of a few.”
PennLive and The Patriot-News are partners with PA Post.
