LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County has released a pair of short documents briefly outlining its “Safe Presidential Election Plan” and the minimum requirements necessary for a space to host a voting center. These documents, which are based in part on public health guidelines and state-authored guidance for running elections during the COVID-19 pandemic, frame how voting centers are intended to operate for the November 3 Presidential Election.
The Safe Presidential Election Plan states the county will develop voting location-specific protection plans; train vote center workers on techniques to prevent the spread of COVID-19; establish prevention and self-screening measures for workers; create distancing guidelines; and implement cleanliness protocols.
According to the county document, each vote center will have custom layouts ensuring “to the extent possible” six feet of physical distance throughout, as well as one-directional traffic patterns, and separate routes for entry and exit wherever possible. Vote center entrances will also include hand sanitizer stations, as well as facial coverings and gloves for voters “if needed.”
Fine text at the bottom of these documents notes that these plans are subject to “grow and expand” as new recommendations come out. According to spokesperson Michael Sanchez, vote center locations are still being determined and will be named about a month before the November 3 election.
“The initial process of any vote center recruitment comes to whether they meet the standard requirement to act as a facility — power, cell connectivity, do they have accessibility or a large enough space,” Sanchez said. Generally speaking, according to L.A. County’s recently-published ”Vote Center Requirements” document, areas used as vote centers should have a minimum of 2,200 square feet to allow for adequate spacing for social distancing. Smaller rooms may be considered “on a case by case basis.”
The county will continue to use some historically-used voting centers, such as school sites and libraries. “Right now, as we know, a lot of schools aren’t even having on-campus education. In some ways, they’re perfect to be acting as voting centers,” Sanchez said. The county is in “open dialogue” with school districts, and Sanchez said he is confident that voting centers will be located at schools, parks, and hotels.
The county has already set up partnerships to use Dodger Stadium and LAFC’s Banc of California Stadium as voting centers and is in talks to partner with other local pro sports teams to use their arenas, stadiums, or fields as voting supercenters.
“We have a new set of challenges,” Sanchez said. “Layout of the rooms is part of those new challenges. Now we have to have rooms with a unique entrance and unique exit, so you can have a path of travel where you don’t necessarily have to cross paths with other people.”
That’s in line with a document released in July by the California Secretary of State’s office. The “Election Administration Guidance under COVID-19” document contains a number of recommended practices for election officials across the state, describing polling place layouts, curbside voting, ballot handling, messaging, and cleaning protocols.
The state also includes more than four pages of guidance on how polling place workers should interact with voters who are not wearing a mask or face covering, and may refuse to put one on.
In all cases, the document states that such voters “must be allowed to vote and that allowing them to vote…will help prevent incidents like those seen in social media,” where conflicts over mask-restrictions have escalated to violence. The state recommends that such voters be moved to a space that is physically distanced from other voters and poll workers, then called to vote at their place in line.
As yet, L.A. County has not published guidance on how it recommends poll workers respond to voters who cannot or will not wear facial coverings at voting centers. Those procedures are still being finalized, Sanchez said.