Douglas County Has Options For COVID-Quarantined Or Hospitalized Voters

From absentee ballots to mail-in-ballots, drive-through lines to drop-boxes, 2020 election officials have thought of everything to adapt to the changing world COVID-19 has led us into.  But what about those individuals who have found themselves quarantined or hospitalized due to the pandemic?

Douglas County election officials are reminding would-be voters who find themselves quarantining or hospitalized due to COVID-19 that they still have plenty of options to cast their ballot - but you need to be expedient.  The voting laws in Wisconsin have long had accommodations for people who are hospitalized; those individuals are allowed to "designate any registered voter to pick up and drop off their ballots on Election Day - even after the regular deadline for requesting an absentee ballot has passed.

2020 brings a new wrinkle to the situation - with people quarantining in their homes due to COVID-19.  According to news sources, the Wisconsin Elections Commission made an allowance for this situation back in March; the commission "voted to expand its definition of hospitalized electors to include to include those quarantining in their homes due to COVID-19".  People who fall into this category need to declare a designated person to safely pickup and deliver these ballots.

Douglas County voters who choose to cast their ballots in the traditional manner - in person - will find plenty of COVID-19-precautions in place.  From plastic barriers to curbside, drive-through, and social-distancing protocols, election officials have thought the process through to try to make voting in this election as safe as possible.

That said - if you are planning on voting in person, you're asked to exercise caution.  Shannon Powell - the chief of staff to the mayor in Racine, Wisconsin offered the following advice:

"If you're sick, you need to wear a mask.  Request the curbside and stay in your car.  You can show your ID through the window - [it doesn't need to be taken by the election clerk].  When....hand[ed]....the ballot to vote, just crack the window".

Click here for more details direct from the Wisconsin Elections Commission.  You'll find a wealth of information not only about COVID-election protocols, but also most general election questions.