Poll supervisor who had COVID-19 on Election Day dies, Missouri officials say

A now-deceased poll worker tested positive for coronavirus just days before Nov. 3, but still went to work at a Missouri voting site on Election Day — and officials are concerned voters and volunteers may have been exposed.

Authorities say a cause of death hasn’t been determined, but the individual, who was an election judge supervisor, was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Oct. 30 by a private lab and told to quarantine for 14 days, according to St. Charles County officials.

Instead of quarantining, the supervisor spent Election Day at the Blanchette Park Memorial Hall polling location in St. Charles.

“Department of Public Health epidemiologists have contacted election workers who were at the site and are working with family members to determine the worker’s whereabouts prior to the positive test results,” county officials said in a statement.

The nine other poll workers at the site are the most likely to have been exposed, officials said, while the 1,858 voters who turned out are considered less at risk, as the infected worker’s duties didn’t involve close interaction with them.

Officials noted that a number of precautions were also taken to make voters safer.

“All election workers were mandated to wear masks or face shields at all times, and Plexiglas barriers separated the workers from the voters,” St. Charles County Director of Elections Kurt Bahr said. “Sanitation procedures were practiced throughout the day.”

Authorities are cautioning anyone who was at the polling site to watch for symptoms, and to reach out to the county’s coronavirus hotline with questions at 636-949-1899.

“As this virus continues to spread, all aspects of the healthcare system are working together to remind the community that a positive COVID-19 test result requires that person to be responsible to others in the community,” county Director of Public Health Demetrius Cianci-Chapman said. “There is no more important duty than protecting the health of our families, friends and those who reside in the community with us.”

COVID-19 is surging in Missouri, state health department data shows.

The average percentage of positive coronavirus tests, currently 15.2%, has never been higher. One week in early April is the closest point of comparison, at 13.2%.

This story was originally published November 5, 2020 at 5:42 PM.