Jun 02, 2020

Extra cleaning, safety measures in place at polling places for today's election

Posted Jun 02, 2020 11:00 AM

by Sarah Thomack

St. Joseph Post

Buchanan County Clerk Mary Baack-Garvey says polling places have cleaning and safety measures in place for Tuesday's General Municipal Election.

“We have put in place what we are calling COVID supplies/COVID bags which consist of rubber gloves, disposable masks, hand sanitizer, wipes, disinfectant sprays, we even have the large plastic screen that will be in between the judges and the voters and we also have tape for marking off six feet,” Baack-Garvey says. “I feel like we have done everything possible that we could to make sure the voters feel safe when they enter the polling place.”

Baack-Garvey says due to COVID-19 concerns and businesses slowly reopening, she anticipates people are still wary of getting out and about and voter turnout will be, "Low, low, low. I would love to see us hit 10% but we'll see. I hope I'm wrong, too," Baack-Garvey says.

Issues on the ballot Tuesday include city charter amendments, general obligation bonds for the repair and replacement of bridges in St. Joseph and six candidates are running for two open spots on the St. Joseph School Board. 

To view sample ballots, click here.