As Portland City Clerk Katherine Jones prepared for primary voting, concerns about coronavirus made election workers unwilling to cover all 11 polling places. Her recommendation was to reduce the number of polling stations to three. That would likely have confused voters, disenfranchised people unable to travel to a different location and created long lines for in-person voters placing them at higher risk of contracting COVID-19.
Happily, all polling places will remain open after all (“Portland drops plan to consolidate polling places for July 14 primary,” June 22). In a demonstration of civic responsibility, calls went out and people responded. According to Staff Writer Megan Gray’s report, thanks are due in large part to Simon Thompson and the Portland Democratic City Committee. We will be able to vote where we are used to voting. Democracy was dealt a great service by such actions.
Now, dear readers, please vote.
Len Freeman
Portland
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.