Municipal elections, delayed from April, finally held Tuesday, June 2, with added safety precautions

By Linda Trest, Staff Writer
Posted 6/3/20

Franklin County Clerk Tim Baker has been working hard to provide a safe election in trying times.

Municipal Elections are normally held the first Tuesday in April. This year that fell right as …

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Municipal elections, delayed from April, finally held Tuesday, June 2, with added safety precautions

Posted

Franklin County Clerk Tim Baker has been working hard to provide a safe election in trying times.

Municipal Elections are normally held the first Tuesday in April. This year that fell right as the state was encouraging people to stay at home to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Gov. Mike Parsons made the decision to postpone the elections until June 2.

In the meantime, Baker has scrambled to put in place precautions to help prevent the spread of the virus in polling places. Plexiglas guards were made to shield voters and poll workers. Poll workers were provided with masks, but many chose not to wear them.

Baker announced on Facebook that voters were welcome to bring their own pens to mark the ballots if they desired. Otherwise, pens were available and sanitized after each use. Surfaces were also sanitized regularly.

Gerald poll workers weren’t over-worked by these extra duties, at least not early in the day. At just before noon, less than 40 people had cast votes in all three wards.