For the first time in Rhode Island, mail ballots topped in-person voting in the spring presidential primary.
Election officials in several communities have good reason to hope that continues on Sept. 8 and Nov. 3. Lost in the news that the U.S. Supreme Court had rejected a challenge to the state suspension of a requirement that mail-in ballots be signed in the presence of two witnesses or a notary: An expected shortage of poll workers.
This week’s Hot Topic on page 7 reports that many experienced poll workers have already said they won’t be working this year due to health risks presented by the new coronavirus.
Experienced poll workers tend to be in older age groups considered by health officials to be more susceptible to the dangers posed by COVID-19.
The more mail ballots used, the less pressure placed on in-person polling sites. But local election officials are still planning for large in-person turnouts, especially in November, and hope they can find enough new poll workers to avoid long lines forming amid a pandemic.