The Travis County clerk’s office said fears of catching the new coronavirus are causing mass chaos at voting locations across the county at the start of Super Tuesday.
Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir said 11 people, including judges who were responsible for opening some of the 175 polling locations across the county Tuesday, did not show up for work out of fear of catching the new coronavirus. DeBeauvoir said this was on top of the 31 judges who also said last week they would not come to operate the polls out of fear of catching the virus or another sickness.
“A significant number of election judges called up and said they quit,” DeBeauvoir said. “They had a variety of excuses. They just decided they did not want to do this and decided the news was scaring them, so last night we were on the phone with the parties trying to get more workers.”
DeBeauvoir said it usually takes six, but no less than three, judges and poll workers to operate just one polling location. The county clerk’s Office worked all morning to find replacements, however, while they were doing so other workers were also abandoning their posts once they realized there were not enough workers to open for voting.
As of 9 a.m. Tuesday, DeBeauvoir said Travis County had 164 vacancies after using up all of its emergency backup workers. However, all of the polling locations were now back open and running, according to the county clerk.
As far as wait times, DeBeauvoir said she had no idea how long it was taking for someone to cast their vote.
MAP: Click here to see wait times at Travis County polling places.
“The elections will go on,” DeBeauvoir said. “They always do.”
The county clerk said she now believes the new coronavirus, which has become a global health crisis with at least 10 people quarantined in Texas, is being used to disrupt the 2020 primary election.
“Nothing like this has ever happened before … Fortunately, we have backup plans,” she said.
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