This election, voters will be greeted with not only campaign signs, but a sanitation station to disinfect and plexi-glass shields. With the Dallas County Elections Department grant of $15 million from the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL), voting preparations for an election in a pandemic have been carefully planned.

The grant is being used to hire more election clerks and judges, purchase additional voting and mail-in ballot sorting equipment, increase the number of available voting locations and provide sanitation and personal protective equipment for poll workers

“It was exciting to be able to vote for the first time, even with the circumstances of the pandemic,” Coppell High School senior Amogh Waranashiwar said. “There was a sense of clarity and comfort knowing that people were distanced, direct hand contact was limited and that there was a constant supply of sanitization.”

Sanitation protocols are implemented through three stations. At the first station, voters are asked to sanitize their hands before and after voting, with either hand sanitizer or disinfectant wipes. The second station is the check-in, where voters are led to a table where a protective shield will be used as a clear barrier between the voter and poll worker verifying their information. 

Voters must stand a distance of six feet apart from each other at all times and will each be assigned a stylus for the voting process. After their ballot has been submitted, voters are advised to deposit their stylus on a table, where it will be sanitized for reuse. The third station is for poll workers, who will place all voting equipment six feet apart, wipe down voting equipment once it has been used by each voter and stock up on additional gloves and masks for necessary use.

“I come from an immunocompromised home environment, so voting was as exciting as it was nerve-wracking,” CHS senior Aysha Khan said. “We didn’t receive a [mail-in] ballot, so I knew the only other way to vote was to go physically to a polling center. Seeing people and equipment constantly being sanitized, spread apart and limiting direct hand contact made me feel not only safe going to vote but also coming back to my family.”

All election judges and poll workers wear gloves and masks throughout the day and are clearly instructed on appropriate cleaning and disinfection, hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette. 

Early voting started on Oct. 13 and ends today. Though the voting experience may seem different this year, it still allows participants to feel like they’ve made an impact. Election Day is Tuesday.

“After I voted, I felt super happy and accomplished,” New Tech High @ Coppell senior Surabhi Srinivas said. “I felt like I was changing the country, even if it was by one voice. This feeling, this vote, this potential change is important if we want to see a difference being made in our country.”

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