City of Platteville COVID-19 Election Day Plan

Updated April 6, 2020

Introduction: Local governments across the state of Wisconsin are being required to administer the April 7, 2020 Spring Election and Presidential Preference Primary despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers’ March 24th Emergency Order #12: Safer at Home Order. This COVID-19 Election Day Plan provides guidance to City staff and Election Officials relating to efforts to mitigate exposure to COVID-19 from staff, Election Officials, and voters on Election Day.

Governor Evers’ issued Emergency Order #5 on March 17, 2020. This Order prohibits mass gatherings of 10 people or more under Wis. State Statutes 252.02(3). While the Order exempts essential government functions, such as administering an election, this Plan uses the guidance of Orders #5 and #12. Along with those Orders, this plan follows the recommendations provided by Federal, State, and County agencies regarding safety during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Federal Court Judge William Conley issued an order on April 2, 2020. The order contained the following:

• Enjoin the enforcement of the requirement that absentee ballots must be received by 8 pm on the election day to be counted and extend the deadline for receipt of absentee ballots to 4 pm on April 13, 2020
• Enjoin the enforcement of the requirement that absentee ballot requests must be received by April 2, 2020 and extend the deadline for receipt of absentee ballot requests by mail, fax or email to 5 pm on April 3, 2020. 
• Enjoin the enforcement as to absentee voters who have provided a written statement that they were unable to safely obtain a witness certification despite reasonable efforts to do so, provided that the ballots are otherwise valid. 

Wisconsin Election Commission issued an update on April 3, 2020 to the Federal Court Order Affecting Spring Election – Witness Signature Required; No Release of Results Until April 13th at 4:00 pm. 

• The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the decision of Judge Conley of the Western District Court regarding the exception to the absentee witness requirement. Therefore, effective immediately, all absentee ballots must have a witness signature to be counted. 
• Judge Conley in the Western District Court also issued clarification that election officials shall not release any unofficial results from the April 7, 2020 election until at least 4:00 pm April 13, 2020 which is also the deadline for the receipt of absentee ballots. 

April 6, 2020, Governor Tony Evers issued Executive Order No. 74 to suspend in-person voting for April 7, 2020, until June 9, 2020. 

April 6, 2020, Supreme Court blocked Executive Order No. 74 previously made by Governor Evers and the Election will continue as scheduled for April 7, 2020 with the polls open from 7 am – 8 pm. 

April 6, 2020, Supreme Court of the United States ruled in order to be counted in this election a voter’s absentee ballot must be either (1) post-marked by election day, April 7, 2020, and received by April 13, 2020, at 4:00 pm, or (2) hand-delivered as provided under state law by April 7, 2020, at 8:00 pm. 

Election Officials: The City of Platteville and the Wisconsin Elections Commission have been encouraging voters to vote by absentee ballot for this election. Due to the high numbers of absentee voters and lower-than-normal expected Election Day voter turnout, the City is staffing with a combination of Election Officials and City Staff. All four Districts will be located at the Armory for this election. 

Inside the Armory there will be one Chief Inspector overseeing two Districts, two Election Officials/City Staff running each District table, one Election Official/City Staff at the registration table, teams of two Election Officials/City Staff focused only on processing absentee ballots, four Election Officials/City Staff operating traffic flow at the doorways and throughout the gymnasium, and cleaning various equipment, door handles, pens, etc. throughout the day. 

Outside the Armory in the large parking lot Election Officials/City Staff will be conducting Drive-Through Voting. There will be a large tent set up in the parking lot with traffic direction maintained. Teams of two going to each vehicle to assist the voter, two Election Officials/City Staff will be cleaning this area, equipment, pens, clipboards, etc. throughout the day, one Election Official/City Staff to help organize ballots, one Election Official/City Staff to bring ballots into the polls to be processed, and several City Staff to include the Streets Dept., Fire Dept., and Police Dept., to help with traffic directing and flow. 

The following are special procedures that will be in effect for the April 7th Election due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These procedures will likely be relaxed for future elections provided that current emergency orders expire.

SPECIAL APRIL 7TH ELECTION DAY PROCEDURES

1. Aside from Election Officials/City Staff and observers, only the voters may enter the Polling Place on Election Day. Family members, friends, or others will not be permitted to enter unless they are assisting a voter in reading or marking the ballot.
2. Any voter exhibiting signs or symptoms of illness will be asked to leave the polling place immediately. Any such voter will be given the opportunity to vote while remaining in his or her vehicle using the Drive-Through Voting process outlined in the Wisconsin Elections Commission Election Day Administration Manual.
3. Only 10 voters will be permitted in the polling place at any one time on Election Day.
4. Each voter will receive a disinfected clean pen at the poll book table. After they have signed the pollbook, they will be directed to place the pen in a basket to be disinfected before it can be used by another voter. 
5. Each voter will also receive a disinfected clean ballot marking pen along with their ballot. The voter will then move to an available voting booth. Once the voter has marked their ballot, they will feed their ballot into the appropriate voting machine and place the ballot marking pen into a basket to be disinfected before it can be used by another voter. 
6. Once a voter has used a voting booth, it will be labeled with a florescent warning sheet of paper that reads – DO NOT USE. Once the voting booth has been disinfected, the warning sheet can be removed, and the booth is now available for the next voter. 
7. No food will be permitted on the floor in the Polling Place on Election Day. Election Officials/City Staff will have a designated space within the building for breaks. Food will be provided to Election Officials/City Staff during the shift they will be covering.

The following are the strategies and action steps to be employed at the polling place on Election Day to attempt to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

COVID-19 SPREAD MITIGATION EFFORTS EMPLOYED AT THE POLLING PLACE

1. Social Distancing

a. Permit only 10 voters inside the polling place at one time. Additional voters may wait outside the building, in their vehicles, or utilize Drive-Through Voting.
b. Use tape to mark six-foot increments on the floor throughout the gymnasium as needed.
c. Use plexiglass stands to separate voters from Election Officials/City Staff while exchanging paperwork and signing documents.
d. Spread out voting booths so that they are at least six feet apart from each other; move handicap accessible voting booth to the west side of the voting booth line.
e. Keep Election Officials/City Staff with a six-foot separation while still being able to perform their jobs.
f. Put all required posted notices and the map out in the lobby area.

2. Increased Hygiene

a. All Election Officials should wash hands thoroughly with soap and water throughout the day, and specifically:

i. Before eating any food in the breakroom
ii. After eating anything in the breakroom
iii. After using the restroom
iiii. Throughout the day as needed
v. Sinks, soap, and paper towels are available in the restrooms and in the kitchen area on the main floor.

b. Hand sanitizer stations will be located at the entrance of the Armory, near the registration table, and near the pollbooks, which is the first stop for voters and the use of hand sanitizer will be encouraged. 
c. Voters should also be encouraged to use hand sanitizer when leaving the polling place.
d. Election Officials/City Staff should not share pens with other Election Officials or with voters.

3. Reduction of Shared Workspaces

a. During a typical election, Election Officials are encouraged to rotate jobs(poll book, ballot table, voter registration). However, during this election, Election Officials/City Staff will be encouraged to remain at one workspace and complete the same job throughout the day.
b. If Election Officials/City Staff want to rotate jobs, all chairs, plexiglass shields, surfaces, and pens must be wiped down between each rotation.

4. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

a. Gloves are available for Election Officials/City Staff. Public health officials have noted that gloves may provide a false sense of safety; however, they will be available. Election Officials/City Staff are required to change gloves after you have handled anything that a voter also handled (paperwork, ballot, pens, equipment, etc.) and refrain from touching their faces (especially eyes, nose, mouth). 
b. Plexiglass shields will be created for each District table as well as the Registration table. These shields will be at least 40 inches in height and are designed to sit on top of the table that the Election Official/City Staff would be seated at. They will have a small gap at the bottom of the shield to allow for the pollbook to be passed under between the Election Official/City Staff and the voter. The pollbook will be the only things passed under the shield as voters can show their IDs through the plexiglass and voters will be provided with a pen for signing the pollbook. These were created with the intention to protect against the transmission of germs due to coughing, sneezing, etc.
c. Masks will be provided to Election Officials/City Staff. The wearing of masks will be with the intention to provide a layer of protection to the Election Officials/City Staff. These are not intended to allow a worker who may be feeling ill to still work. If an/a Election Officials/City Staff is ill or exhibiting symptoms of illness, he or she should not be working on Election Day.

5. Sanitization of Materials

a. Each voter will receive a pen to use to fill out registration forms (if needed) and for signing the pollbook. Once the voter is done using the pen, they will be directed to place the pen in a basket designated for cleaning. 
b. Sanitizing wipes and spray bottles of disinfecting cleaner with paper towels will be available and will be regularly used by the Election Officials/City Staff to sanitize the following items:

i. Voting booths
ii. ICE ballot tabulator
iii. Door handles and other frequently touched surfaces
iiii. Plexiglass shields
v. Tables and other hard surfaces
vi. All surface and materials will be sanitized before packed up and put away

The City of Platteville takes the health, safety, and welfare of ALL staff, Election Officials, and voters very seriously. We will continue to do everything in our power to protect those individuals from contracting COVID-19 at the polling place on Election Day. These procedures, strategies, and action steps outlined in this document will be in place for the April 7, 2020 Spring Election and Presidential Preference Primary and have been updated on March 31, 2020 by City Clerk Candace Klaas (608-348-9741, cityclerk@platteville.org). The COVID-19 pandemic and the guidance relating to the virus changes daily. The City reserves to amend or change this plan as needed up to and including Election Day.