<\/a>Polling place volunteer Shelly Mangusso talks to a voter about health restrictions in place at the Douglas Community Building for the 2020 Primary Election on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. This year voters were being asked to wear disposable gloves when handling voting materials, Mangusso said, who was providing gloves at the door. (Peter Segall \/ Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Plus, Jacqueline said with City and Borough of Juneau’s municipal election moving to mail-in ballots, the primary election offers a chance to see what to expect in November’s election. It also was a way to avoid burdening the United States Postal Service.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“I didn’t want to put any more pressure on the post office,” she said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
In Douglas, poll worker Shelly Mangusso met voters at the door to inform them of the special health protocols in place this year. Mangusso handed one voter a pair of disposable gloves to use while voting. Voters trickled in slowly to the Douglas Community Building to cast their ballots for who and what they want to see in November.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
[Sullivan and Gross headline primaries for Senate seat<\/a>]<\/ins><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Picking up steam<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t At the Alaska State Museum, voting was sluggish initially, but increasing in speed as the morning wore on.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t “It was a pretty slow start, but it’s starting to pick up,” said Bridget Goertzen, who was chairing the museum’s polling station, different from her usual polling station in Lemon Creek. “It’s gonna be a surprise. This is my first time chairing this precinct.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t [House race is poised to be a rematch<\/a>]<\/ins><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Voters were being careful and wearing PPE, said Jim Carroll, a five-time volunteer and one of the workers at the polling station. All stations were laid out with health concerns in mind as well, Goertzen said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t “We’re all as spaced out as we possibly can be,” Goertzen said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Sample ballots laid out at the polling place in the Douglas Community Building for the 2020 Primary Election on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. (Peter Segall \/ Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Voting stations have masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer available for voters, Goertzen said. Workers wore face shields, gloves and wiped down pens and voting booths regularly.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t “We anticipate an uptick in absentee and question ballots,” Goertzen said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>