Voters asked to wear masks to polling places

Everyone wore a mask among the more than 3,000 people who voted in advance over the past two weeks at the Shawnee County election office, says election commissioner Andrew Howell.

He asks that voters going to the polls in Tuesday’s primary do the same, out of respect for others.

Candidates for federal, state and county offices are running in Tuesday’s primary, in which registered Democratic and Republican voters may cast their ballots from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at polling places maintained by the county election office.

Voters may learn the address of their voting place, check their registration and see a sample ballot — if one is available — by going to https://myvoteinfo.voteks.org/VoterView/RegistrantSearch.do and typing in their first and last names and date of birth.

“It’s important for voters to go to their assigned polling location as it will be the only location that will have the voter’s correct ballot,” Howell said. “Each precinct has a unique ballot for the Democratic and Republican parties.”

Advance voting in person ended at noon Monday at the election office at 3420 S.W. Van Buren, where ballots received by mail will be accepted until 7 p.m. Tuesday.

This year’s primary comes at a time when Shawnee County requires — with a few exceptions — that everyone 10 and older wear facial coverings at indoor and outdoor public places where social distancing can’t be achieved.

A limited number of masks will be available at each of the county’s 92 polling places, but those are intended to be used by supervising judges and board workers, said Mark Stock, assistant county election commissioner.

Election workers may choose to allow voters to use some of those masks if necessary, Howell said. Still, he asked that voters wear their own masks to help ensure polling places don’t run out.

Howell added that he respects the opinions of people who are opposed to wearing masks in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 but asks that they wear a mask to their polling place Tuesday as a matter of courtesy.

Election judges will decide on a case-by-case basis how to accommodate any voter who refuses to wear a mask, Howell said.

One of those options would be having that voter fill out his or her ballot outside the polling place using a clipboard, he said, while socially distanced indoor voting can be achieved at larger locations.

Unaffiliated voters may join the Democratic or Republican parties at their polling place Tuesday, and won’t be able to vote unless they do so first, Howell said. No ballot questions are being decided in Tuesday’s primary.

For more information about Tuesday’s elections, call the county election office at 785-251-5900.