County Clerk Gives Update On Election Preparation, Voter Safety

Polk County Clerk Terri Harrison relaeased the following information today concerning the upcoming General Election.

Election time is just around the corner and will be here before we know it. County Clerks and Election Commissioners across the State, as well as State Officials, are working diligently to make sure that the General Election goes smoothly and that we are taking necessary precautions to ensure the safety of voters and election workers.

With the exception of a few changes to meet safety and sanitation guidelines, we anticipate that elections will carry on pretty much as usual in Polk County. Early voting will begin on October 19th and vote centers will be open on Election Day. We will be taking extra measures to keep everything sanitized.

Voters and election workers will be asked to honor the 6-foot social distancing guidelines to prevent the spread of Covid19. Hand sanitizer, face masks, and other protective equipment will also be available at each vote center.

Absentee voting will still be available for those voters that are unavoidably absent, or their health prevents them from being able to vote in person. Anyone needing to vote absentee should contact the County Clerk’s Office as soon as possible so that we can send you the absentee application.

The Primary Election on March 3rd went very smooth in Polk County and we believe the General Election will be just as successful.

As a voter there are a few things you can do to help out. If you have recently moved or had a name change, please contact the County Clerk’s Office as soon as possible to update your information on voter registration records.

If you wait until Election Day, that information has to be updated while you are checking in at the vote center to vote and can cause delays for you and other voters. If you are not registered to vote but think you may want to vote in the General Election, now is the time to get registered.

You can pick up a voter registration application at the County Clerk’s Office or you can call the County Clerk’s Office, and we will be happy to mail the application to you.

If you register to vote when you renew your driver’s license or car tags but do not receive anything from the clerk’s office within a week or two, you should give us a call and confirm that we received your registration application.

We are always excited to get new people who are interested in serving as election workers. If this is something you think you might be interested in, please contact the County Clerk’s Office for more information. Election workers are required to attend training before they can be appointed to work.

We realize and understand that there is a lot of uncertainty in the world currently, but we do not want this to discourage anyone from voting. We want people to come out and vote, and we want to have successful elections. If you have any questions about your voter registration or voting in Polk County, please call the County Clerk’s Office at 479-394-8123.

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Jeri Pearson

Jeri is the News Director for Pulse Multi-Media and Editor of The Polk County Pulse. She has 10 years of experience in community focused journalism and has won multiple press association awards.

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