MIAMI – The first day of early voting kicked off Monday in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties, and the coronavirus pandemic has changed the process a bit for those heading to the polls to cast their vote in person.
A total of 23 early voting locations are open Monday in Miami-Dade County.
Despite the pandemic, the county has been putting in work in the days and weeks leading up to the start of early voting, conducting accuracy testing on their machines. The testing includes everything from opening the equipment to tabulating the results.
“We’re putting all the CDC and public health guidelines into place, and that means that our poll workers are going to be wearing masks, we’re giving them face shields, they’re going to be wearing gloves and wiping down all the common touch points within their precincts. And then, of course, what’s different is that voters are going to be required to wear a mask when coming to vote,” Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections Christina White said.
Social distancing stickers were also placed on the floors of each polling site.
“I’m glad they made sure everyone was wearing face masks,” one voter, Douglas Mathis, said. “They gave us sanitizer and the poll workers made sure we were all distanced.”
Mathis was one of the first voters to show up Monday at the Stephen P. Clark Center in Miami.
“We are in a pandemic. They were very responsible in there and I felt very comfortable,” he said.
Those who don’t feel comfortable going inside a Miami-Dade polling location may use the drop boxes for vote-by-mail ballots, which are outside the 23 polling locations.
Miami-Dade County State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, who is running for re-election, announced the activation of her Voter Protection Task Force Monday morning to stop any possible illegal activity at early voting sites.
“Law enforcement will be working the streets to make sure that voting in our county is fair and that everyone’s voice is heard. I have set up an election response team that will go out on our streets in response to any complaints about possible voting irregularities,” Fernandez Rundle said in a news release.
Investigators from the State Attorney’s Office will also be at designated polling locations during scheduled voting hours throughout the early voting period.
Anyone who suspects improper or irregular activities at early voting sites is urged to call the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office Voter Protection Hotline at 305-547-3300.
Early voting in Miami-Dade County runs from Monday, through Aug. 16.
It runs through Aug. 15th in Monroe County and from Aug. 8 to Aug. 16 in Broward County.
The Primary Election is on Aug. 18.
BE ELECTION READY: Local10.com 2020 voter guide