Sandwich Officials Say Election Precautions Were Successful

SANDWICH – Sandwich Town Clerk Taylor White said adjustments made to the recent town and state elections due to the COVID-19 pandemic were successful. 

“Everything went fairly smoothly, about half voted through the mail ahead of time and the other half showed up at the polls to vote,” said White.  

“When all was said and done, with the precautions that we took, the election went very smoothly, the public feedback we’ve received so far was that it was done in a matter where people felt safe and poll workers, who dedicated 13 to 14 hours that day, also felt like they were protected.”

According to White, the town saw about a 20 percent total turn out for the election, with 10 percent voting through the mail and the other 10 using the polls.  

He added that members of the community stepped up to make safe in person voting possible.

“We took social distancing recommendations from our Board of Health Director (David Mason) and we had a lot of help from our community,” said White.  

“Everything from our fire chief helping out with cleaning the voting surfaces in the area with his crew, all the way to our golf director who provided us with pencils so that people could mark their ballots and then throw the pencils away so that they didn’t have to touch pens all day, really a community effort.”

Other precautions taken by the town included plexiglass shields at the check-in and check-out tables, markings on the floor to denote six foot separation, and a controlled flow that allowed voters to safety enter and exit voting areas.

“With all those things combined we had a very successful day,” White said.

Poll workers who chose to work also said they felt safe during the election.

The town allowed poll workers who did not feel comfortable to stay home.

Sandwich also deemed poll works essential employees which allowed them to receive testing before or after the election.

“Overall the poll workers, prior to the election, speaking to them after, or during Election Day, all felt comfortable that the precautions that we took kept them safe,” White said.  

While he said he was unsure of what the future holds, White noted that the town will adhere to any guidelines in place for the fall elections.