In-person voting will occur at four county locations

By Elizabeth Bonin, Staff Writer

(Oct. 29, 2020) Voters have multiple options for casting their ballots on Tuesday, Nov. 3 or early for the general election. They can vote at one of four voting centers in Worcester County or return their mail-in ballots via mail or a drop box.

Although the deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot has already passed, voters can and should turn in their mail ballots as soon as possible. The drop box may be the better option, since ballots that are mailed must be postmarked on or before Election Day and be received by the local board of elections by 10 a.m. on Nov. 13.

The mail-in ballots are postage paid. The ballots can be mailed or returned to a ballot drop-off box at the Ocean City convention center on 40th Street or the county elections building in Snow Hill, 201 Belt Street Suite C.

According to the Worcester County Board of Elections, the voting centers in-person voting next Tuesday are the Pocomoke Community Center, 1410 Market Street in Pocomoke City, Snow Hill Middle School, 522 Coulbourne Lane in Snow Hill, Stephen Decatur Middle School, 9815 Seahawk Road in Berlin, and the Ocean City convention center on 40th Street.

There were originally going to be 16 polling places, but a shortage of poll workers helped shift to four voting centers so fewer workers would be needed. As opposed to a polling place, a voter can cast his or her ballot at any of the voting centers.

In-person voting on Election Day will be available 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Although the early voting site is typically the Gull Creek senior living facility in Berlin, that was unavailable because of the coronavirus pandemic. By law, the early voting center must be within 10 miles of 50 percent of registered voters.

The early voting site for Worcester is the Ocean City convention center. Early voting started on Monday, Oct. 26 and will run through Monday, Nov. 2. The times for early voting will be 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

According to Elections Director Patti Jackson, elections judges will be wearing masks and gloves. Booths will be cleaned after each voter for covid-19 precautions.

There will be Plexiglass shields and Clorox wipes at the judge stations, as well as hand sanitizer available.

Anyone entering the building must undergo a temperature check.

Jackson said that there will be a separate voting booth in the convention center foyer for those with a temperature of 100.4 and over and for those who refuse to wear a mask.

The canvas of the votes will be live-streamed only.