The Illinois Department of Public Health has released in-person voting guidelines for election authorities to curb the spread of COVID-19 this year.
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SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Department of Public Health has released in-person voting guidelines for election authorities to curb the spread of COVID-19 this year.
Changes announced last week include moving polling locations from senior living facilities, maintaining social distancing for voters and workers, creating outdoor spaces for citizens to wait and swapping communal items for single-use ones.
Those rules also apply to early voting, which varies depending on local rules but generally begins Sept. 24 and runs through Nov. 2 — the day before Election Day.
“While the safest way to cast a ballot this year is by voting by mail, we are and will continue to take the necessary steps to ensure that Illinoisans can exercise their right to vote in person, in the safest possible environments during this COVID-19 pandemic,” Dr. Ngozi Ezike, IDPH director, said in a written statement.
According to Illinois law, individual county clerks are obligated to comply with the department’s rules as well as produce their own plans to minimize potential COVID-19 infections. Officials should specify a disinfection procedure, configure booths and tables for social distancing and display signs specifying a face covering should be worn.
While masks will be provided at locations statewide, “election authorities are prohibited from preventing a noncompliant voter from casting a ballot for refusal to wear a face covering outside or inside a polling place,” the health department’s guidance specifies.