Tennant Provides Information and Options for Upcoming Primary Election

May 18, 2020

Charleston, W.Va.- Former Secretary of State and current candidate Natalie E. Tennant released the following information about our upcoming primary election and the impact of the COVID-19 on it:

The safety and health of West Virginia voters is highest priority as we approach the May 12^th Primary Election.

There are many safeguards and preparations that can be made to ensure the safety of voters and election workers while protecting the security, accessibility and integrity of our elections.

Mail-In Absentee Ballots

West Virginia has absentee voting by mail, but a voter must have an excuse or reason for not being able to physically get to the polls during early voting or on election day.

However, West Virginia state code http://code.wvlegislature.gov/3-3-1/ provides many acceptable excuses:

(1) Any voter who is confined to a specific location and prevented from voting in person throughout the period of voting in person because of:

(A) Disability, illness, injury, or other medical reason;

With our country and state under a State of Emergency and citizens being asked to practice social distancing, COVID-19 could certainly be considered a medical reason to receive an absentee ballot.

Depending on the influx of these types of ballots, county clerks would need additional resources and time to process the ballots and count them.

Online Ballot Delivery

During the Super Storm Sandy of 2012, I oversaw our Statewide General Election during a State of Emergency.

At that time, I worked with county clerks and commissioners to authorize our local National Guard Members who were responding to the disaster in state to receive their ballots online.

The method was used for our deployed military and overseas voters who receive a link to their ballot, vote it, print it off and mail it back. The company, Democracy Live, provided the system and it can be expanded beyond our military and disabled voters to voters who want to vote from home.

Community Voting

In 2009, we passed a law that allows early voting to take place in communities rather than just a courthouse or voter registration office. This method has grown in popularity and is used in many counties.

Voters could be encouraged to take advantage of the community voting where the crowd may be smaller throughout the day. With approval, these sites could also be used on election day to cut down on the need for as many poll workers.

Curb side voting

The American with Disabilities Act requires that polling places be accessible to voters with disabilities or mobility challenges. In a rare circumstance where a precinct might be in an inaccessible building, election administrators may provide “curbside voting” to allow persons with disabilities to vote outside the polling place or in their cars.

West Virginia could consider expanding this method to serve those who do not wish to enter a polling place. It would require more workers and resources for county clerks to conduct the process.

Poll Workers

An adequate number of poll workers is a concern nearly every election. The potential absences of poll workers because of sickness or fear of COVID-19 make having enough poll workers an even more difficult task.

Since we are under a state of emergency, the state and counties could consider using National Guard Members to serve as poll workers. In the General Election during Super Storm Sandy, we used military DRASH Tents as polling places.

WV could also recruit workers who were displaced or laid off because of the COVID-19 including nonessential federal, state and local workers who do not have a conflict of interest and college and high school students.

Polling Place Safety

The Centers for Disease Control has issued guidelines for polling places that include:

• Social Distancing measures
  • Provide time for poll workers to frequently stop and wash their hands.
  • Guidance on how to properly and frequently sanitize election equipment and common surfaces.

Voting machine vendors, like ES&S have instructions to keep the machines sanitary.

Vote By Mail

Vote By Mail is not uncommon in West Virginia. In 2009, we passed a two-phase project that allowed certain municipalities to vote by mail. The Town of Harrisville in Ritchie County, after nearly 10 years of it being implemented, is still using this process during Early Voting.

Funding

Additional processes, equipment and election staff will require increased funding. Some sources of funding to consider could be federal funding included in US Senator Ron Wyden’s bill– The Resilient Elections During Quarantines and Natural Disasters Act of 2020. 

The state could also tap into the initial funds from the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) and the Governor’s Contingency Fund.

Deadlines

Election officials face multiple deadlines throughout the election cycle. The WV Election Calendar is a good source to see all of the deadlines.

March 17, 2020- 56 days before Primary Election

• The County Clerk notifies the County Commission of the number of sets of emergency absentee ballot commissioners necessary

March 27, 2020- 46 days before Primary Elections

• Mail Absentee Ballots. No later than the 46th day before the election, the County Clerks must mail absentee ballots to voters from whom they have received applications. Following the 46th day before the election, ballots must be sent within one day of receiving applications.

April 21, 2020- 21 days before Primary

• Last day to register to vote

April 29 – May 9, 2020- Early Voting in Person

May 12, 2020- Election Day

We must ensure all West Virginians have the ability to vote in a safe, secure and accessible manner. We can be creative in our approach with what is available in existing state law and provide county clerks the additional manpower and resources they need to be able to effectively administer our elections.