Crawford County voters are being encouraged to vote from home to stay safe. | Pixabay
Crawford County voters are being encouraged to vote from home to stay safe. | Pixabay
Crawford County's auditor is suggesting for county voters to mail in ballots for the upcoming primary election to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Auditor Terri Martens told the Bulletin Review that absentee ballots can be requested, which will help residents of the county stay healthy and safe.
“We want the citizens of Crawford County to stay safe and vote from home,” Martens told the Bulletin Review. “We will still have a precinct open on Election Day but we’re encouraging people to request an absentee ballot by mail, get it at your home where you can stay safe and still vote.”
Requested ballots will be mailed out from April 23 to May 22, the Bulletin Review reports. In-person voting will take place on May 4, but Martens said she isn't sure how the auditor's office will handle it yet, according to the Bulletin Review.
“We’re still working on that because the courthouse doors are locked to the public,” she told the Bulletin Review. “We will probably have to do something curbside for voters who want to try to vote in person. We’ll do it as contact-free as we can.”
Martens also said in-person voting isn't as safe as mailing in a ballot, according to the Bulletin Review.
“We’re encouraging that request for a mailed ballot,” she told the Bulletin Review. “Let us get it into the mail to you as quickly as we can and you get it at home where you can be safe.”
Voters can return their ballots through the mail or put them in a drop box at the county courthouse, Bulletin Review reports.
Denison Precinct will be open on election day at Boulder Conference Center, Martens told the Bulletin Review.
“We will provide hand sanitizer,” Martens told the Bulletin Review. “People are free to use it and we will encourage them to use it. We’re also going to make the initial process of verifying identification contact-free.”
There will also be staff cleaning the voting machines and pencils after each person that uses one, according to the Bulletin Review.
“We will have people there cleaning the screens after every voter,” Martens told the Bulletin Review. “The same with pens; we’ll have plenty of pens available and they will be used only once in that election.”
Crawford County residents can find more information on the primary election on the county's website.
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