July 17, 2020

Face Covering Requirements in the Polling Place

Executive Order 2020-153, published by Governor Whitmer today, says that voters are strongly encouraged to wear face coverings, but the requirement to wear a face covering inside does not apply to voters who are at a polling place for purposes of voting in an election.

Voters should be strongly encouraged to wear masks but cannot be denied the ability to vote because they are not wearing a mask. We recommend that polling places have extra masks available for voters who arrive without a mask. Each precinct is being provided with 50 masks by the Bureau of Elections; surplus masks can be offered to voters. If voters are not wearing masks, poll workers can encourage them to use curbside voting or direct them to voting areas that are at a greater distance from other locations within the polling place. However, voters cannot be denied the ability to vote because they are not wearing a mask. If a voter refuses to wear a mask and refuses voting alternatives such as curbside voting, election workers should facilitate the voter’s ability to cast a ballot while preserving social distancing, rather than attempting to confront the voter. For example, the voter can be discretely directed to the voting station that is most isolated from other areas in the polling place.

Updated Polling Place Safety and Accessibility Guidelines

The polling place safety and accessibility guidelines have been updated. The new version is available in eLearning. The document has been updated to include Executive Order 2020-153, clarify that local guidance may vary on gloves and other equipment, and include sample language for poll workers and posters on masks, social distancing, and the availability of curbside voting.

This guidance could be updated again between now and Election Day, so please continue to monitor the News Update and eLearning.

Write-In Filing Deadline

The deadline for write-in candidates to file Declaration of Intent forms for the August election is 4 p.m. Friday, July 24. If a write-in candidate has filed in your jurisdiction, be sure to review the Write-In Section of the Managing your Precinct on Election Day - Election Inspectors' Procedure Manual.

Table of Contents

• Face Covering Requirements in the Polling Place
• Building Capacity Limits, Polling Places, and AVCBs
• Updated Polling Place Safety and Accessibility Guidelines
• August 4 Election Flyer
• QVF Software Release
• Write-In Filing Deadline 

Building Capacity Limits, Polling Places, and Absent Voter Counting Boards

The Bureau has received questions on whether building capacity limits in Executive Order 2020-110 and Executive Order 2020-115 apply to polling locations and absent voter counting boards. According to FAQs posted on Michigan.Gov for 2020-110 and 2020-115, the gathering and event limitations in these orders do not apply to voters coming together to cast their individual vote or to poll workers coming together, as necessary, to count votes. Polling places should take steps, however, to enable voters and poll workers to remain six feet from one another at all times.

August 4 Election Flyer

The “New Voting Rights” flyer that we have provided for each election since the passage of Prop. 18-3 has been updated and replaced with the August 4, 2020 Safe Voting Flyer. Moving forward the flyer will not be designed in the old format.

QVF Software Release

The QVF Software Release for July 17, 2020 is as follows:

• Election Inspector Internal Report. Added the polling locations to this report.
• Residency Verification Report. Added the transaction date to this report.
• AV Details. Corrected an issue where copying the application address was always also checking “international address.”