Early Voters Can Head to the Polls from Oct. 24 to Nov. 1

    Anyone who wants to vote early before the Nov. 3 general election can find 88 city polling sites open for nine days from Oct. 24 to Nov. 1, the New York City Board of Elections said.

    The 88 sites, which include daycare centers and public schools, will adhere to strict COVID safety protocols to prevent the spread of the killer virus.

The New York City Board of Elections requires that in all polling places:

·       Voters wear masks. Poll-site workers will provide face covers to anyone who shows up without them.

·       PlexiGlas serves as barriers between voters and election workers.

·       Interactions between voters and poll workers will be sped up via tablets that confirm voters’ identities. Voters should bring with them the plastic ID cards that they receive in the mail.

·       Voters will be given stylus pens to sign in and mark their ballots.

·       Floor markers will maintain social-distancing.

·       Antiviral wipes will be available, and voting machines will be cleaned regularly with antiseptic wipes.

·       Voters can use a foot pumps to get hand sanitizer.

  People who are feeling sick should stay home and vote by mail because the Board of Elections will not be checking temperatures at the door, nor testing voters for the virus or requiring them to provide proof that they recently tested negative for COVID-19.

   Despite all the healthy precautions that the Board of Elections plans to take in the daycare center and schools, the safety of voting at the polling sites selected has been sharply called into questions.

   For instance, on Sept. 11, Richard Carranza, the city schools chancellor and Bill Chong, the commissioner of the department of youth and community sent a joint letter to the Board of Elections demanding that election officials find alternative sites because of coronavirus safety concerns while they are trying to keep safe the students and staff of public schools.

Photos by: Unplash