Voters wait in line just after 7 a.m. Tuesday to vote at the Hays Recreation Center.
By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
The socially distanced line of Hays residents waiting patiently to vote early this morning at the Hays Recreation Center stretched through the three gyms.
Ellis County polls opened at 7 a.m. and will close at 7 p.m.
Many people were voting just after 7 a.m., before going to their workplaces for the day. People could be seen wearing medical scrubs and shirts sporting their business logos. Work trucks crowded the HRC parking lots. One young student waited on the bleachers for his parent to vote, and then it was on to school.
"First time I've ever voted, and it's probably the last time," said one man to another as the line slowly moved forward. "See ya in another four years," quipped another man after dropping his ballot into the collection box.
The state’s top elections official forecast a 70% turnout, predicting a record 1.35 million of the state’s 1.94 million registered would cast ballots in this presidential election year.
Nearly all voters at HRC were wearing face masks, as required by a city of Hays ordinance because of the coronavirus pandemic.
All the poll workers were wearing masks or face shields. Those handing the paper ballots to voters were also wearing protective gloves. Plexiglass shields separated voters from the three volunteers checking voter identifications.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas is seeking an investigation into the refusal of the Ellis County Clerk Donna Maskus and Kansas Secretary of State to require election workers to wear a facemask.
The ACLU filed a complaint last Thursday with the Kansas Department of Labor on behalf of an Ellis County election worker who has a heart transplant and fears for safety.
The complaint includes photos of clerk’s office employees not wearing a mask, and it references other photos published by Hays Post. A voter also contacted the ACLU with concerns about being placed at risk for COVID-19 because workers weren’t wearing a mask, the complaint said.
The Ellis County Health Department on Monday reported the average number of new coronavirus cases per day in the last seven days rose from 11 on Friday to 12 on Monday.
Check back with Hays Post as election results become available.
