Super Tuesday chaos as coronavirus scares off volunteers and polling stations shut by tornadoes and power outages – The Sun

SUPER Tuesday was thrown into chaos today as polling stations were knocked out by tornadoes and power outages while coronavirus scared off volunteers.

Hours before polls were set to open in Tennessee, tornadoes tore through the capital city of Nashville and forced voters to head to other locations, where they encountered long lines.



Election officials scrambled to ensure that Tennesseans were still able to vote – alternate sites were arranged for 15 polling places out of the 169 precincts in Nashville's combined city-county area.

Davidson County Administrator of Election Jeff Thomas said voters from anywhere in the county can go to two so-called "supersites" to cast their ballots.

As poll workers taking vote totals are forced to navigate closed roads and other hazards, Tennessee's primary results could be delayed due to the devastating aftermath of the storms – other states are also likely to count results late.

The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law urged Tennessee officials to extend primary election voting in certain parts of the state affected by the storms.





The group argued that some people have lost their homes and emergency officials have told people to stay off the roads, causing confusion about where people can vote.

Voters were seen wearing face masks as they headed to polling stations on one of the biggest days on the Democratic primary calendar.

But some staffers didn't show up to work at the polls due to fears of the deadly virus spreading.

Widespread power outages were reported across Los Angeles, California Tuesday afternoon, including at LAX and some polling places during Super Tuesday voting.

Frustrated voters were reportedly turned away at certain locations in the city during the outage, which lasted a total of 20 minutes, according to the LA Department of Public Works.

State election officials warned the public not to expect complete official results on Tuesday night, and that results could fluctuate as ballots come in and are counted over several days.

Ahead of the presidential election, Super Tuesday is the largest voting day of the year.

Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir said in a statement that a number of "no-shows" caused problems at the polls early Tuesday in Texas.

"Super Tuesday got off to a rocky start due to multiple no-shows of many election judges and poll workers," DeBeauvoir said.

"To the extent that the Elections Office was given a reason, it seems people were fearful of the Coronavirus."

DeBeauvoir said that as soon as it became clear the number of no-shows was a problem, the stations got emergency recruits to fill in.

With some staffers no-showing, however, some others abandoned their posts when they realized there was not enough staff to run the stations, USA Today reported.

There were a total of 164 vacant spots as of 9 a.m., DeBeauvoir said, but polls were all back up and running.

"Most locations are up and running now and we're continuing to work on resolutions to get everywhere fully staffed," DeBeauvoir said.

California, one of the states with the most cases in the U.S., also saw a shortage of staff ahead of Super Tuesday.





As the centers stocked up on disinfecting products, tissues, gloves, and hand sanitizer, Janna Haynes with the Sacramento County Voter Registration and Elections said that as many as 15 of the 650 workers said they would not be working Super Tuesday, KCRA reported.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William Gavin ordered stations to ramp up with constant cleaning and disinfecting in booths, and swapping out pens and providing additional ones, NBC Boston reported.

Worried Americans have become increasingly cautious of hygiene in community settings — like schools, daycares, and polling locations — where people are often in close quarters with a large number of others.

Many polling stations were pictured with hand sanitizer dispensers around the rooms.

Amid growing concern, the CDC issued guidelines to polling stations to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The CDC urged polling stations to clean and disinfect electronics used for voting — like voting machines, keyboards, laptops, and tablets — and other surfaces that have been contaminated with germs.

In addition to cleaning frequently-touched surfaces, the CDC advised polling stations to ensure bathrooms were stocked with soap and water and having hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol stocked.




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Polling workers on Super Tuesday were urged to stay home if they felt sick, or had any potential symptoms of the virus.

The election-day chaos came amid fears that nursing homes may become the center of the virus disasters, as facilities like Seattle-area Life Care center.

As people wear masks increasingly, in places like public transit and polling stations, stocks have begun to run empty as stores have sold out.

Health officials have cautioned, however, that wearing masks may do little to protect someone from getting coronavirus — and are best saved for those that are actually sick, or communities that are most at-risk of contracting the virus.

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