NEW ORLEANS, La. (WGNO)- In Orleans Parish, they are in pretty good shape compared to what the situation was on Friday.
What a crazy year for voting. First, it was Covid keeping people from the polls and now, it’s the aftermath from Hurricane Zeta.
Not to worry though, only one polling location is without power. All of the other voting sites have electricity again and the chief of elections for Orleans Parish is expecting power will be restored to all of the polls later today, Monday, November 2.
Bright and early Monday morning, polling machines were rolling out since we are less than 24 hours away from election day.
There are more than 500 machines that are in service and working. Loading them up on seven trucks and getting the machines to the election sites by 4:00 p.m. Monday was the goal.
If a machine stops working for any reason, the elections office has technicians on stand by and other machines to substitute in.
As of right now, only one polling location change and it’s not a huge change. At Xavier University, residents will cast their votes at the Convocation Center instead of the Student Center. So the same campus, just a different building.
Even though Orleans parish has faced difficulties getting residents to the polls due to the pandemic and now because of Hurricane Zeta, the chief of elections, Arthur Morrell is still describing the 2020 election with a positive word.
“Exciting! This election the whole world is looking at the United States. They want to know what’s going to happen here and we’re going to perform as we’ve never performed before, better! We have some good people working and I think everything is going to work out okay. If you get to the poll place and there is a line, please stay in line. We are moving on as quick as we can,” said Arthur Morrell, Orleans Parish Chief of Elections.
Polls in Orleans Parish will open at 6:00 a.m. and will close at 8:00 p.m. Tuesday.
