Gov. Gavin Newsom gave California counties permission on Wednesday to limit their in-person voting operations for the Nov. 3 election as protection against the spread of the coronavirus — but only if they also offer three days of early voting, a tradeoff some local officials said could be expensive and challenging.
The decision, detailed in an executive order, comes almost one month after Newsom instructed California counties to mail all of the state’s 20.6 million voters an absentee ballot for the upcoming election. In doing so, he noted that voting locations would still be provided, primarily for voters with disabilities and those seeking assistance in a language other than English.
But Newsom’s earlier executive order, issued May 8, was silent on rules governing where and when to set up voting sites, leaving elections officials in limbo on plans for the upcoming presidential election. The cost to implement new guidelines could be substantial, exceeding the federal dollars already earmarked for election assistance during the pandemic and further straining county government budgets stretched thin by public health and safety spending.
Newsom’s order offers no information as to whether additional state funds will be set aside, though elections funding could be boosted in the state budget the Legislature must send to his desk by June 15….
The change presents two notable challenges for counties that have no experience with early voting. First, they will have to operate locations for four consecutive days, requiring some poll workers to work more hours or the enlistment of additional volunteers. Many poll workers are seniors who might not participate this year given their heightened risk for COVID-19 infection. The governor’s executive order on Wednesday raised the possibility of county employees being assigned to elections work.
Second, voting locations will have to be prepared to accommodate possibility thousands of voters who could show up over the four-day period, both those who choose to not vote by mail and new voters who can register as late as election day. Not all of these voters may be eligible to use the same ballot, requiring additional supplies. And because voters could likely choose any of a county’s limited voting locations, poll workers will need more than just an old-fashioned paper printout of voters who live nearby to check eligibility.