North Andover Election Protocols For Coronavirus Safety

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — While absentee and mail-in ballots are strongly encouraged, North Andover officials have developed plans to prevent coronavirus spread during the town election, June 2, they told the Board of Selectmen Tuesday.

Strict controls will be in place to prevent crowd inside the high school, where all precincts vote. Voters will wait outside and only one per precinct will be allowed in at a time. The emergency management department will monitor the line to ensure distancing.

Precincts will be spread out and each will have one voting booth. The health department will review the layout.

Voters will be required to wear masks. The town will have masks on hand for any voters who forget them. There will be a separate voting area for voters who cannot wear masks for medical reasons; it'll be completely disinfected between voters.

Check-in tables and voting booths will be cleaned between voters, and each worker will have a mask, hand sanitizer and gloves. Voters will be given disposable pens.

Town Clerk Trudy Reid noted that time is running out for absentee ballots and asked voters to get their applications in as soon as possible.

>>How To Vote By Mail In North Andover's Town Election

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Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.