TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — With the June 2nd primary election coming up many people in Indiana may be concerned about heading to the ballot box and staying safe from the coronavirus.
The state is already encouraging you to vote by mail instead of in-person in the name of practicing good social distancing. The deadline to request an absentee ballot is Thursday if you wish to vote by mail and not go to the ballot box on election day.
In Vigo County, election workers are going the extra mile to make sure voters are safe to go to their respective polling places and cast their vote. County clerk Brad Newman said the county is partnering with Servpro to help disinfect polling places keep them clean.
“Servpro is jumping in and helping us out as far as keeping everything clean,” Newman said. “We’re going to be cleaning in real-time. It’s a production we’ve been working on and I think we’ve got everything down pat.”
Newman said voting machines will be spaced more than six feet apart to maintain social distancing and poll workers will wear personal protective equipment. Hand sanitizer will also be available to voters.
“What will happen is as someone leaves the voting area all high touch booths will be wiped down,” said Chad Overton with Servpro. “It is an EPA registered hospital-grade disinfectant that we use.”
Voting centers will be open for early voting as well starting May 26th throughout the state. State election workers say it could take a lot longer this year to count votes because of a larger than normal number of mail-in ballots expected.
