In Wisconsin's April primary, Green Bay was forced to reduce its Election Day polling locations from 31 to only 2, "As only 17 poll workers of the city's roster of 270 were able to work."2 Similarly, in the District of Columbia's June primary, "There were reports of long wait times-some multiple hours long. The shortage of poll workers to sanitize voting machines and process ballots nearly ground the system to a halt," despite lower‐than‐average turnout.
It's critical that election officials in every state "Ensure that they have sufficient resources to conduct an election based primarily on absentee ballots,"14 but voting by mail isn't the only solution to poll sites overwhelmed under pandemic conditions.
Early in‐person voting has similar benefits, and while it's more of a health risk than voting by mail is, spreading voters out over more time will still help alleviate crowding on Election Day.
Allowing a person to return the ballot of an elderly parent or disabled spouse makes a lot of sense-and particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, states should be wary of placing more obstacles in the way of seniors' voting.
Although crafting an electoral process that both addresses valid COVID‐19‐related health concerns and preserves ballot integrity is vital, the most important task for states is to provide clear guidance so that voters understand whatever process is chosen and how things will work on Election Day.
If necessary, phone hotlines and websites could provide multilingual assistance on the steps required to vote and answers to questions usually fielded by poll workers on Election Day.
Clear guidance will allow voters to choose the safest method of voting available to them, research the steps required to accomplish that, and trust the integrity of the election process.
https://www.cato.org/publications/legal-policy-bulletin/election-regulation-during-covid-19-pandemic
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