Statement from Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Ohio Chief Elections Officials

PHOENIX – The following statement is attributable to Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (AZ), Secretary of State Laurel Lee (FL), Elections Board Chairman Charles Scholz (IL) and Secretary of State Frank LaRose (OH):  

As each of our four states prepare for voters to head to the polls on Tuesday, March 17, 2020, we are working closely with our state health officials to ensure that our poll workers and voters can be confident that voting is safe.

Unlike concerts, sporting events or other mass gatherings where large groups of people travel long distances to congregate in a confined space for an extended period of time, polling locations see people from a nearby community coming into and out of the building for a short duration. 

Further, guidance from voting machine manufacturers on how best to sanitize machines, guidance from CDC on best practices for hand washing, and guidance from our respective state health officials is being provided to every polling location. 

Americans have participated in elections during challenging times in the past, and based on the best information we have from public health officials, we are confident that voters in our states can safely and securely cast their ballots in this election, and that otherwise healthy poll workers can and should carry out their patriotic duties on Tuesday. 

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