Elections officials take steps to limit the spread of coronavirus

Call this one voting in a pandemic.

All three states with big delegate prizes in today’s Democratic primary — Michigan with 125 delegates, Missouri with 68 and Washington with 89 — are taking steps to limit the spread of coronavirus among voters and election workers.

The top candidates are former Vice President Joe Biden, who came out of Super Tuesday with 670 delegates, and Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who was close behind with 574.

In Washington, the epicenter of the corona outbreak in the U.S., the primary is a mail-in ballot, so there’s little worry of spreading disease at the polls. But CNBC is reporting that Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman, nonetheless, urged caution.

“Whether healthy or sick, please don’t lick,” Wyman tweeted as a reminded voters.

As recommended by @WADeptHealth, please use alternative methods to seal your ballot return envelopes, such as a wet sponge or cloth.

Washington’s Presidential Primary is March 10. Use a ballot drop box to return your ballot by 8 p.m. Election Day. #waelex pic.twitter.com/UOk8Ld4Z3m

— WA Secretary of State (@secstatewa) March 3, 2020

In Michigan, Reuters reported that election officials instructed poll workers to sanitize voting booths, touch screen machine pencils and other election items.

In Missouri, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that election officials were equipping polling places with hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes and promised to have gloves for staffers who must handle returns and voting machines Tuesday night.

Pennsylvania will hold its primary on April 28. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has published specific advice for elections officials around the country to clean and disinfect polling places to limit the spread of the virus.