Coronavirus concern shrinks pool of St. Clair County election judges to monitor primary
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Election officials, feeling the impact of worries about COVID-19 ahead of Tuesday’s Illinois primary, are relocating polling places in Madison and St. Clair counties and taking other precautions.
As of Thursday afternoon, no confirmed cases of coronavirus have been reported in the metro-east. Statewide, 32 confirmed cases have been reported, most in the Chicago area.
Three polling stations at senior living homes have officially been moved to alternative venues as a precaution in Madison and St. Clair counties.
Belleville Precinct No. 34, located at Westfield Manor senior living apartments, was the most recent of the three. St. Clair County Clerk Tom Holbrook said the polling location has been reassigned to the St. Clair County Housing Authority building at 1790 S. 74th St. in Belleville, just down the street from the apartments.
In Madison County, polling locations at Asbury Village in Godfrey and Meridian Village in Glen Carbon, both senior living centers, also were moved, according to Madison County Clerk Debbie Ming-Mendoza’s office, who cited Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s recent disaster proclamation on COVID-19.
Asbury Village’s voting will still take place on the premises but at 5219 and 5222 Aldergate, across the street from the original polling place.
People who would have voted at Meridian Village will now vote at Calvary Baptist Church, 2249 Illinois State Route 157, in Edwardsville.
Both county clerks have ordered election judges to take extra precautions to keep voting as safe as possible. They said disinfectants and cleaning products will be on hand at all polling sites.
“We have provided our election judges and our polling places with hand sanitizer wipes,” Ming-Mendoza said. “I am telling them to use the common sense their parents pounded into them to practice good hygiene.”
Ming-Mendoza said Madison County election judges are being encouraged to avoid shaking hands or touching voters.
Holbrook said voting equipment will be sanitized regularly throughout the day of the primary.
Another issue St. Clair and many other counties are facing is a shrinking pool of election judges due to worries about coronavirus, Holbrook said. He said just a week ago the county had about 1,000 election judges, who on average are roughly 70 years old.
Now, Holbrook said, that pool of judges is down to about 600.
“A lot of those people are rightfully so concerned about their health, “ he said. “We’re doing everything we can for their safekeeping.”
Older adults and people with heart disease, diabetes or lung diseases are higher risk,according to the Center for Disease Control.
“Even if you yourself are young and healthy, your neighbors, your family members, even the people who walk the same streets of your community as you do, might not be,” Pritzker said in his Wednesday briefing.
The steep drop in judges means St. Clair County and other counties across the state need more election judges. Holbrook said anyone who is willing to work from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. the day of the primary should call 618-825-2379 for more information.
“We’re looking for any judges we can get,” he said. “Anyone in St. Clair County outside of East St. Louis can get involved.”
Holbrook and Ming-Mendoza said growing concerns over coronavirus could reduce voter turnout . Ming-Mendoza said with Pritzker’s and President Donald Trump’s recent addresses on the virus, people are taking it more seriously than they had in the past weeks.
Holbrook expects a lower turnout than the roughly 25 percent participation rate he said is typical for the county. He said its hard to tell ahead of time though, especially since it’s a presidential primary.
For local polling locations in St. Clair County, visit http://www.countyclerk.co.st-clair.il.us/elections and click on the voter’s guide on the lower left. For Madison County locations, visit https://www.co.madison.il.us/departments/county_clerk/
This story was originally published March 12, 2020 at 3:46 PM.
