KINGSTON, Jamaica— The Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) is reminding special services electors, who are set to vote next Monday, August 31, to wear a mask, sanitise their hands, and observe physical distancing guidelines at the polling stations.                     

 The EOJ said it has engaged approximately 7,400 sanitisation clerks and cleaner attendants to sanitise electors’ hands at the polling locations and to frequently clean furniture, bathrooms and high-touch areas.

“Inside the polling station, the presiding officer will issue the ballot to the elector along with a pencil and direct him/her to the voting booth. That is, instead of the usual pencil attached to the voting booth and used by all electors, each elector will be given an individual pencil that is sanitised before and after use,” the EOJ explained.

“After marking the ballot, the elector will return it to the presiding officer and place the ‘used pencil’ into a special container on the presiding officer’s table. ‘Used pencils’ will be removed at regular intervals and sanitised. The elector’s hands will then be sanitized before immersing his/her right index finger in the electoral ink.

Presiding officers and poll clerks will sanitise after each encounter with an elector and as otherwise necessary.