To oppose the moving of the West Conshohocken poll location, Borough Council President Doug Borgerson attended the Montgomery County Board of Elections meeting on finalizing the plan to reduce the number of polling places. Unfortunately, the vote to approve the plan went down party lines; voting 2-1 to reduce the number of polling locations.

The reduction in polling places means that between three and five precincts could be voting at each school location. Here’s how Voter Services intends to handle that extra complexity:

  • The goal is to have a Judge of Elections for each precinct. Meaning if there are four precincts at one polling location there are four Judges of Elections. Voter Services realizes this may not be possible and a Judge may have to cover a few precincts.
  • There will be a table for each precinct within the polling location. Each precinct will have its own line and floors will be tapped with markers six feet apart to encourage social distancing as voters wait to get checked in.
  • Each precinct will have one scanner programmed to only accept ballots from that precinct.

Even through Governor Wolf has extend the stay at home lock down order, the state considers voting an essential activity. 🙂

Here are the steps Voter Services are taking to address the health concerns (if the following arrangements don’t make you feel safe, you are still able to sign up for vote by mail until May 18th.):

  • All inside poll workers will be provided a mask and poll workers who directly interact with the public will get a face shield.
  • Voters are not legally required to wear a mask and a Judge of Elections cannot turn away a voter for not wearing one; but expect dirty looks from the neighborhood Karens if you are not wearing one.
  • The ADA touchscreen machine will be sanitized after each use, pens will be sanitized after each use, and privacy booths will be sanitized frequently.
  • Voters are encouraged to bring their own pen.

If you need assistance getting to the Gulph school to vote please let us know.