LAUDERHILL, FLA. (WSVN) - Precautions are being taken at voting stations across South Florida ahead of Florida’s presidential primary to make sure everything is safe for voters heading to the polls amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Election workers could be seen counting the early votes and reviewing questionable ballots on Monday. However, election day will be different this year due to concerns over the coronavirus.
“There’s been a lot of logistical floundering around,” Broward Supervisor of Elections Peter Antonacci said.
Those concerns have closed at least 13 polling places, forcing the movement of machines and supplies.
Antonacci added that concerns over social distancing are not going to be an issue, as big crowds are not expected for Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
“Fortunately, the lines are not going to be an issue,” he said. “We had eight days of early voting, we had no lines, and I think the same is going to be true for election day.”
Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections Christina White echoed Antonacci’s prediction.
“This particular election doesn’t typically have a very high voter turnout, and so we’re not really expecting lines and large crowds, and that is probably going to bode well in this environment that we’re in,” she said.
The total voter turnout in Miami-Dade County is expected to be around 20%, and 15% have already voted.
7News cameras captured voting machines being wiped down with disinfectant wipes at a North Miami voting site early Tuesday morning.
In Broward County, fewer people are choosing to vote in person, and the county has received 11,000 more mail-in ballots than in 2016.
As for protection at the polls, Miami-Dade sites will ask voters to clean their hands before they enter. However, there are no specific instructions in Broward County, but officials are reminding people to protect themselves.
“If bringing a bottle of Purell is going to make you feel comfortable, or a pen, or if you want to wear a mask, whatever it is that makes the voters feel comfortable,” Antonacci said.
Voters whose polling places were moved should have received a notice of said movement.
If not, officials in Miami-Dade and Broward counties have put the latest information on polling sites on their websites.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.