NORTH MIAMI, FLA. (WSVN) - Registered voters in Miami-Dade and Broward counties are making their way to the polls to take part in Florida’s presidential primary amid growing COVID-19 concerns.
Election workers and voters are taking precautionary steps to stay safe at polling locations across South Florida.
At a North Miami polling site, election workers could be seen cleaning voting machines early Tuesday morning before voters arrived to cast their ballots.
“This is like Clorox wipes, latex gloves and just a mask,” said voter Carlos Puello.
Some sites seemed to have a higher influx of voters coming in than others.
“I feel the voter drop off rate is going to suffer because normally, at this time, it’s robust — you have a lot of movement, but I was in there by myself,” said voter Ramon Raiford. “It was real smooth. Everything looked clean.”
Election officials in Miami-Dade and Broward County spoke Monday and said they did not expect big crowds to turn out.
“Fortunately, the lines are not going to be an issue,” Broward Supervisor of Elections Peter Antonacci 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.
Those who have come out to vote said people should be careful but also shouldn’t miss out on the opportunity.
7News cameras captured election workers continuing to clean surfaces and voting machines throughout the day.
“We have to do what is right for the country,” said Puello. “That’s the voting part, but we have to also take care of us.”
“As citizens, we should all do it,” said Carol Sassoon Greenspan. “It’s our right to vote, and we should take advantage of that, especially in these kinds of times.”
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.