Smooth, safe voting by special services electors

Donning masks, sanitising hands, and maintaining social distancing protocols, special services electors turned up at various locations across Kingston and St Catherine today to cast their ballots.

At the police training college at Twickenham Park, St Catherine, several members of the force were seen observing the health protocols before being directed to the polling stations to cast their ballots.

When The Gleaner visited the Constant Spring Police Station in St Andrew steady voting was taking place. 

Assistant returning officer for St Andrew North Central Petagaye Griffiths said the voting process has been proceeding "smoothly".

She told The Gleaner that voters have been complying with the established COVID-19 health protocols.

"We have been observing the protocols, we have been wearing our protective gears, our face masks, our shields; we are doing the sanitisation, persons are taking their temperature on the outside and observing social distancing," she said.

Griffiths said that once voters enter the polling station they are again sanitised.

"After they get the instruction and are issued the ballot, they mark the ballot and return, they are also sanitised again. So there has been smooth running, no hiccups so far."

Three days before the majority of civilians go to the polls, the police, military and Election Day workers are allowed to vote.

This arrangement is set out in the Representation of the People Act to allow these special services voters to be available for duty on Election Day.

Today, 31,084 Election Day workers, 11, 512 police officers and 4,181 members of the Jamaica Defence Force are eligible to cast their ballots.

Voting began at 8 a.m and will end at 4 p.m.

Election Day workers are voting at 169 locations across the island while the military and police have 28 locations.

As electors go to the polls in a pandemic, the Electoral Office of Jamaica says it has recruited about 7,400 sanitisation clerks and cleaner attendants to sanitise electors’ hands at the polling location.

Furniture, bathrooms, and areas touched frequently by electors will be cleaned on a regular basis.

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