City official is confident in process amid unusual election
By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer
City of Burlington election officials stand ready to process an unprecedented total of absentee ballots for the Nov. 3 General Election.
City Clerk Diahnn Halbach said she feels optimistic even after Monday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision denying an extension for counting absentee ballots to six days after the election.
“Although we will have a record number of absentee ballots to process on Election Day, we feel that we have a good plan in place to make sure the ballots are processed in a timely and efficient manner,” Halbach said.
“Poll workers/volunteer students will be specifically assigned to processing the absentee ballots so I am optimistic we will be able to successfully complete this task by the time the poll close.”
Halbach said on Tuesday Burlington has issued 3,741 absentee ballots and only 483 have not been returned.
Of the 3,741 absentee ballots, 994 have been cast through early in-person voting that began on Oct. 20.
Halbach encourages voters to return their ballots as soon as possible to ensure each ballot is counted.
“We are encouraging people not to wait until Election Day to return their ballots. The sooner we can get these returned, the sooner we can prepare them for Election Day,” she said.
City of Burlington residents, she said, can hand deliver their ballots directly to City Hall, 300 N. Pine Street, during regular hours or use the secure drop box inside the Burlington Public Library at 166 E. Jefferson Street.
But she reiterated the library drop box is for city residents only.
Election Day
In 2020, unlike previous years, city residents will only have one polling place on Election Day at Veteran’s Terrace with polls open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m.
City officials on Election Day plan on following CDC guidelines related to COVID-19 mitigation procedures.
Guidelines include wearing masks along with adhering to social distancing recommendations of at least six feet.
Wards 1-4, formerly Cross Lutheran Church, will be in the Parkside Room and voters will be asked to use the main entrance off the parking lot.
For Wards 5-9, which previously had its elections at United Methodist Church, city officials will direct voters to use the front entrance located on Milwaukee Avenue.
To read the full version of this story see the Oct. 29 edition of the Burlington Standard Press.
-
-
-
-
-