RIO GRANDE VALLEY, Texas (KVEO) — The 2020 Presidential Election is approaching and the COVID-19 pandemic is adding additional measures for voters to take when heading to the polls.
Elections administrators across the country are working to ensure each resident is able to vote in a safe manner.
Polling location workers will have personal protection equipment, provide hand sanitizer, and socially distance the area.
Additionally, Cameron County will provide one pen to each voter to use so that multiple people will not come into contact with the same pen.
All of these precautions will mitigate the spread of COVID-19 at polling locations.
However, what if someone already has COVID-19 during election time? What if someone contracts COVID-19 over the course of early voting and election day?
Elections administrators have put multiple options in place for anyone who happens to have COVID-19.
First, voters can sign up for mail-in-voting.
In Texas, a resident must fall under certain criteria in order to qualify for mail-in-voting. One of the qualifiers is to be sick or disabled during election time. Having COVID-19 does qualify as being sick so a voter could submit a mail-in-vote request if they want the option.
The deadline to submit a mail-in-vote request is October 23. Early voting runs from October 13 to October 30.
Second, voters will be able to curbside vote at polling locations if they do not want to go inside or are prohibited from doing so because of a COVID-19 diagnosis.
Phone numbers will be placed outside of each polling location and voters can call the number so that a polling worker can assist them.
