Primary serves as test run for November at Minnesota polling places as pandemic continues

(FOX 9) - For many, Tuesday's primary served as a sample of what to expect on Election Day in November as judges and volunteers make plans for how to make polls safer and more efficient amid the pandemic.

Six weeks ago, Greg Brucker and his fellow election judges began plotting out the primary. Their polling place, the gym at Washburn High School in Minneapolis, posed a challenge because it usually hosts two different precincts, therefore drawing too many people to one site.

Election judges and volunteers also worked to put safety measures in place amid the pandemic, including accommodations for a mask-less voter.

“We’ve put a lot of thought into how to do a mask-less voter because we cannot refuse them the opportunity to vote,” he said.

Those without masks had their own area cordoned off by Brucker’s homemade stanchions.

“We’re just delighted how well it’s worked, in general,” he said.

In so many ways, for polling places, this is a test-run for November.

“In November it will be harder because it’s cold, so this gives us a chance to try out some stuff so that by November we’ll have a better system,” said Lois Gertz, an election judge in Bloomington.

Gertz had less space to work with at Southtown Baptist Church, so she’s already decided on revisions to allow an indoor line in three months. For this primary, she improvised with a lectern and chairs and supplies from home.

“We’ve got everybody walking in one direction, so we put up these ropes,” she said.

Many of the polling places FOX 9 visited had steady but slow trickles of voters -- a reflection of heavy mail-in participation. But for those voting in-person, there is a huge emphasis on safety, including healthy doses of hand sanitizer, plenty of masks, and constant cleaning of voting booths and pens.

Sheila Domstrand volunteered for her first time Tuesday.

“If I can clean out each booth or give people masks or sanitizer, I’m going to do it,” she said.