Officials with the Ohio County Commission have adapted a long-standing program for residents currently quarantined after exposure to COVID-19 or are patients in the pandemic unit at Wheeling Hospital.
Lou Vargo, director of the Ohio County Emergency Management Agency, said county paramedics will deliver and retrieve the ballot to ensure all registered residents have the chance to cast their vote.
“They absolutely can vote, and all they have to do is call in the Ohio County Commission office at 304-234-3628, and arrangements can be made,” Vargo explained. “We have people who are quarantined right now, and employees with Ohio County EMS are ready to work with them. Ohio County has had a system in place for some time now for the people who are hospitalized, and with the pandemic, it’s been adapted.
“We have emergency ballots that can be delivered to those who cannot get to their polling location,” he said. “Ohio County is delivering those ballots, and they can either wait for the voter to complete it, or they can come back to retrieve them. Those folks have that right to vote, so we do what we can to make sure they have that opportunity.”
What to Expect
Normally, election officials with the Ohio County Commission would make the trips to homes, hospitals, or care facilities to pick up the completed ballots, but with the number of positive cases reported in the last week, the paramedics have been called into duty.
“We have seen our numbers go up here in Ohio County, so we are well aware there are a lot of people who are now in quarantine but still want to vote, and that is not a problem,” Vargo said. “We do expect our EMS employees to be pretty busy on Election Day, but county residents should know that we will not be taking away from our crews that are on duty during the day. We have some extra people who will be doing this for those residents.
“The reason we decided to use the paramedics is because they are the ones who are more familiar with the PPE and how to wear it properly,” he explained. “They are used to it, so that way there will not be any concerns about contamination.”
The adopted drop-off and pick-up process is one complete with precautions put into place to protect all involved.
“The difference now is that the ballots will be sealed and placed into a bag when they are delivered,” Vargo said. “When those ballots are brought back to the courthouse, people in personal protective equipment will take them out and place them with the absentee ballots and will be counted accordingly.
“When the ballots are dropped off, there is no contact with the quarantined resident,” he said. “When we call to let them know that the ballot will be dropped off at the front door, it is explained to them that there is a form they need to fill out. If they want our EMS employee to wait five or 10 minutes, that’s not a problem. If they need extra time, they can call us to tell us to come back.”
Hospitalized Voters
Vargo said the Ohio County Commission implemented the voting process for people incapable of visiting their normal polling place for several years, and Mark Ackermann with the Marshall County Health Department said a similar program has been developed there.
Voters in Marshall County in quarantine or hospitalized can make arrangements with the Marshall County Clerk’s Office by calling 304-845-1220.
“Here in Ohio County, a nurse working on the pandemic unit at the hospital has the ballot and the necessary forms so when they contact us, those ballots will be picked up, too. The same goes for anyone else who may be in the hospital right now who thought they were going to be able to vote on Election Day.
“If someone is in the hospital and their illness is not connected to COVID-19, there are election officials who will go to retrieve those ballots,” he reported. “We have that constitutional right to vote in our elections, and as long as these people are registered to do so, we’ll make sure they have that chance and that their ballots are counted just like anyone else’s.”
