Virginia guards against H1N1 at polls
By: William C. Flook
Examiner Staff Writer
November 3, 2009
Election officials have sent out more than 2,000 bottles of hand sanitizer to Virginia localities in the hopes to controlling the spread of the H1N1 flu virus at the polls Tuesday.
With hundreds of thousands of voters set to cast their ballot in the governor's race and other elections, the State Board of Elections hopes to minimize the risk of catching the flu strain at at polling places, especially from touch-screen voting machines. They also want to offer public assurance that the locations are safe, to prevent flu fears from suppressing turnout.
The elections agency said local registrars are taking steps that include using "Q-tips or disposable coffee stirrers" on the machines, adding more space between voting booths and recruiting backup poll workers, according to the Board of Elections.
Fairfax County will have hand sanitizer available at all of its 231 precincts, said Fairfax County General Registrar Edgardo Cortes, as well as wipes to clean the surfaces of the touch-screen machines. - William C. Flook
