The Monroe County Board of Elections said it will remind poll workers and voters to follow government guidelinesto minimize the spread of coronavirus and try to remain healthy ahead of New York's presidential primary.
Acting elections commissioner Nancy Leven said there are no current plans to disrupt the April 28 election, and there won't be unless federal, state or local authorities say otherwise.
"The voters typically come and go," Leven said. "You're not in the voting area that long. This is a person-to-person virus; there's no documentation at this time that it's person-to-surface, so I wouldn't expect them to be in the facilities or around a lot of people for a very long time."
Elections officials across the country have been seeking guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on how to prevent the spread of the virus during the Democratic presidential primaries. Voting is already underway in other states, including Washington, the center of the outbreak in the United States.
In Monroe County, Leven said if voters are concerned about exposing themselves to the virus, they don't have to wait until Election Day to vote in the presidential primary or the special election for the 27th Congressional District or the 136th State Assembly District.
Nine days of early voting will begin on April 18 at 13 locations.
Many of Monroe County's poll workers are older adults, who are at higher risk for the illness.
"We are concerned about that," Leven acknowledged, "that maybe a lot of them might want to stay home, but we're hoping that they take care of themselves and stay healthy and not have any issues with working that day."
About 1,800 people are scheduled to work at about 312 polling sites on the April 28 election, according to Leven.