HERMANN — With protective equipment in hand and plenty of disinfectant available, Gasconade County voters Tuesday will be taking part in what County Clerk Lesa Lietzow good-naturedly called one of the “cleanest” elections ever.

Indeed, as voters prepare to cast ballots for municipal officials and school board directors in an election that normally would have been held in April, Lietzow and her staff last week were instructing election judges on ways to safeguard against the possible spread of the coronavirus during the 13-hour balloting process at polling places throughout the county.

The four election judges in each precinct will be separated from the voters by a large plexiglass sneeze shield, much like those seen in grocery stores and other places of business. Those shields will have an opening at the bottom large enough through which to pass the voting roll books and ballots.

Lietzow said the election judges will be using their own discretion regarding how often to wipe down with disinfectant the voting booths and pens.

A large supply of disinfectant was provided to the county last Monday by Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft. The state’s chief elections official was in Gasconade County as part of a pre-election swing through all 114 counties to deliver disinfectant and informational posters that will be displayed on June 2 at the polling places.

Lietzow Thursday morning told the County Commission the large plexiglass shields were manufactured in Maryland Heights in St. Louis County while the boxes that will hold them after next week’s elections were manufactured in New Haven. The sneeze shields will be stored at the polling places for use in the August and November elections, the county clerk said.

The cost of the protective shields and the storage boxes will be covered by the $1.725 million received by Gasconade County as part of the federal $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package signed into law several weeks ago.

Also, Lietzow said the Secretary of State’s Office will restocking the counties with cleaning materials for the August Primary Elections and the November General Elections.

Election judges needed in Drake, Owensville

Meanwhile, with the General Municipal Elections less than two weeks away as of May 21, the county clerk was busy trying to fill two vacancies among the ranks of the election judges. As of Thursday morning, a Democrat judge was needed in the Drake precinct and a Democrat judge was needed in an Owensville precinct.

Anyone interested in serving as an election judge should contact the County Clerk’s Office at 573-486-5427. The position pays about $100 plus mileage.