Dade Elections Supervisor Lowanna Vaughan in a file shot earlier in the year, when she thought Georgia's new voting machines were the worst thing she had to worry about. If only!
Georgia COVID-19 numbers are up again--at today's livestreamed county briefing, deputy clerk Carey Anderson read a release from the state health department saying there had been 1504 new cases reported overnight in the state and 100 more deaths. "This is not a time to relax," she said.
But also today, County Executive Ted Rumley said Georgia is requiring the local board of elections to recruit poll workers to come in and apply, go through the required training and man the polls so that the May 19 primary can go forward as planned. "We're asking for people to come in and talk to Lowanna," said Rumley, referring to election supervisor Lowanna Vaughan. "She said she needs roughly about 75 people to come forward."
Early voting for the general primary--which this year is scheduled to run concurrently with the presidential preference primary, which was postponed last month in the middle of early voting--is scheduled to start April 27.
"Come in and apply" seems a bizarre message to mix with the shelter-at-home order Georgia along with most of the world is under, and in fact Rumley said the poll worker shortage is caused by the ones already trained and experienced refusing to work because they're worried about the coronavirus. A lot of them are older, said the county boss. "They have a right to stay home," he said.
But Georgia mandates not just that every designated polling place in the county be opened but that there be a certain number of workers at each, said Rumley, and if counties can't come up with them the state may bring in people from out of state. Rumley said in some states struggling to find poll workers for their presidential preference primaries: "Some of them have brought in even some of the National Guard people to help them." Others had recruited schoolteachers, said Rumley.
Meanwhile, whatever happens with in-person voting this year, Carey Anderson, exhibiting one of the requests for absentee ballot the state has mailed out, encouraged voters to fill it out, get their absentee ballot and be counted that way. "We're urging everybody to vote by absentee ballot if possible," she said.
Statewide, coronavirus cases are up to 8818 as of noon today, deaths up to 329. But Rumley, reading the tri-state area numbers, noted that no counties nearby had spiked much. Dade is still at one case and one death, Walker up from three cases to four, Catoosa from six to seven, Chattooga three to four. "Hopefully, we've kind of leveled off," he said.
Rumley reported that he hadn't heard from Gov. Brian Kemp yet in response to the county's plea to have Cloudland Canyon State Park closed for the rest of April to keep tourists from bringing the virus into Dade. He said the league of north Georgia mountain counties that had joined together and submitted a joint letter Monday urging closure of their own state parks was also still waiting for word from Atlanta. And he said Chattooga County Commissioner Jason Winters was also agitating to have Georgia close the one in his county, Sloppy Floyd State Park. "He said it was just unreal," said Rumley.
Rumley said the counties don't wish to seem inhospitable but: "It's to keep the virus contained."
The county boss described an unusual situation with the Georgia driver's license office. DDS has closed its offices all over the state with the COVID-19 crisis but Dade is in a unique position: The county had entered into a joint venture with Trenton's Southeast Lineman Training Center to split the salary of state workers sent to Dade to issue licenses on alternating Mondays. "We pay those people on Monday because normally they're off," said Rumley.
Now the Georgia employees are willing to honor their commitment, come back to Dade and issue licenses, but the office they use is in the Justice Building where the sheriff's office and jail are located, and that building like other public ones has been locked for safety during this period of quarantine. Rumley said the county's decision what to do on this issue will depend on how the coronavirus situation goes. "We'll just play it by ear on this," he said.
Dade Schools Central Office employee Josh Ingle said the school system's nutrition program starts back after spring break next week on April 13. Again, school buses will deliver food for any children under 18 Mondays and Wednesdays, roughly four hours after their usual morning pickup time. Ingle reminded all to leave out a box or other container school workers can leave the food on, preferably with a note how many kids need food. "Perhaps you can even use a lawn chair," he suggested. This week, meals are being provided by a coalition of donors from 3-6 p.m. Monday and Wednesday at Dade High. If you have questions about that, please email marthabaker@dadecs.org, said Ingle.
Sheriff Ray Cross came on briefly to report his office had had zero arrests in the last 24 hours, which he said tells him people are staying home. Anyway, he said: "We're not pulling people over just to be pulling them over. We're not out here being Gestapos." He said he wished to quell rumors that the SO had instituted a curfew in Dade. There is no curfew for adults though Dade does in fact have on the books an 11 p.m. curfew for those under 18.
He said at the jail trusties are constantly cleaning to keep the lockup safe from infection, and he answered a question from the Facebook audience about trusties deployed at the county transfer station. Yes, the county is trying to keep those workers safe, with masks, gloves, hand sanitizer and directions to avoid contact with the public. To that end, he asked that those with garbage for the trusties to unload remain in their vehicles and allow the workers to unload it unassisted.
Sheriff Cross urged anybody who'd like to take advantage of the SO's grocery-and-prescription delivery service to call (706) 944-3329 and ask for it. And he reminded all that local COVID-19 numbers are comparably better than those in other parts of the country. "Keep your chin up and let's get through this," he said.
Deputy Clerk Anderson answered a question about whether the fabric face masks, now recommended by the Centers for Disease Control for use by everybody going out in public, can be sanitized by zapping them in the microwave: Ask whoever made them, she advised. Some may be ruined in the microwave.
And she supplied a couple of local sources for the masks: The Little Rag Quilt, (256) 601-4421 and JB's Variety Store, (706) 657-2874.
The Dade County government livestreams these briefings every day at 3 p.m. "Like" the Dade County Ga. Facebook page to be alerted when they begin. Alternatively, you may watch videos of them later on that FB page or on The Planet's, where they are shared.
