Coronavirus impacting elections this fall

Election officials are already planning for disruption with casting ballots this fall

Falling coronavirus the coronavirus is changing the way we'll vote in the august primary..and november election.

The state's election commission is already preparing for the adjustments.

Kimt new three's jessica bringe spoke with the city of rochester about what voters should expect in the coming months.

Jessica.xx at... the very least..social distancing is expected to continue for the next several months..

So physical voting locations will pose health risks to voters.

So now?

Expanding alternative voting options is a priority for the city of rochester.xxx the mail box..

May become the new ballot box..

For many voters across minnesota.

In minnesota we already have that option to vote by mail and we anticipate there will be quite a few more people taking advantage of that option.

The city of rochester s ays many physical voting locations come primary day are no longer ideal options like nursing homes..church es and schools so the city is considering moving or consolodating polling locations.

So, making sure we have places that are open and accessible to the public, offer plenty of space to allow for voting to occur in person with adequate social distancing.

And just making sure we can get that environment as safe as possible.

There are also issues to consider with poll workers?

Since many are generally older and at higher risk if exposed to the coronavirus.

We want to make sure we have good contingency plans in place so that we have enough judges so that we're able to have successfully operating polling locations whatever that may look like in august and november and that's not something you can fix a week ahead of time so it's something the city says it's also working on ideas other than mai?in voting for those that may find it difficult to do so..

And will provide options so that everyone is abale to successfully cast their ballots this year.

Live in rochester jessica bringe kimt news three.// thank you jessica.

You can also expect candidates to change the way they connect with voters..

With virtual rallies being one potential option./// technology can be used