Utah clerk's office under quarantine after COVID-19 exposure

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A county clerk's office in Utah is under quarantine Monday after the staff was exposed to COVID-19 but officials say it likely won't delay when election results are announced.

The Summit County clerk's office staff was exposed to the coronavirus over the weekend and will quarantine until the end of the week, said clerk Kent Jones. The office says it received approximately 18,000 ballots through Friday. Those results will be posted on Election Day.

The clerk’s office will process all additional ballots returned through the mail or a drop box when staff members are cleared to end their quarantine, said Jones. The official ballot count will still be available on Nov. 17 as planned.

“We have a two week period after Election Day before the results are declared official, and I’m confident we’ll be able to complete it before that,” he said.

If any election workers do become sick, other counties would be available to help finish processing ballots, Jones said.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some — especially older adults and people with existing health problems — it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.

The county said the Election Day drive-thru voting location for people who need voting assistance at the Summit County Fairgrounds will proceed as previously scheduled.

The state election's office announced that 1 million Utah voters had voted as of Monday morning, which is about 87% of the state's entire turnout in 2016.

___

Sophia Eppolito is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists...