COVID AND ELECTION. All voters, even those positive for Covid-19, will be able to vote on April 10 and 24, 2022 without presenting proof. The health protocol published on March 30 simply recommends wearing a mask. Find the details of the sanitary measures planned in the polling stations.
[Mis à jour le 31 mars 2022 à 10h42] “It will be possible to vote by being positive for Covid-19”. The government spokesman himself confirmed the news on Wednesday 30 years after leaving the Council of Ministers. It then only took a few hours for the Ministry of the Interior to publish details of the health protocol in force in the polling stations. Going to the polls will therefore be child’s play even for people with covid-19 since no proof such as proof of vaccination, certificate of recovery or completion of a virological test will be required at the entrance to the offices of vote. Positive and isolated voters will therefore be able to interrupt their isolation without difficulty to go and vote. “We recommend that they wear a mask for this,” said Gabriel Attal, however, calling for everyone’s “individual responsibility”, and in accordance with the lifting of restrictions on March 14 which put an end to the obligation to wear a mask. Place Beauvau indicates: “Wearing a mask and the rules of physical distance are not compulsory in the polling stations”. The ministry is content to “strongly” recommend the wearing of the accessory to positive people, contact cases at risk, symptomatic or fragile. “Surgical masks will be made available” in all polling stations on April 10 and 24, 2022.
It is an ultra-light health protocol that the government provides for the holding and organization of presidential elections with the regular obligation to air the polling stations, the frequent disinfection of equipment or the provision of gel- hydroalcoholic. The decision to limit preventive measures to the strict minimum reflects the government’s desire not to blow a new wind of panic concerning the health situation as we are witnessing a resurgence of the epidemic. Statements by a member of the Defense Council on 29 March on BFM TV go in this direction: “There is no danger in going to vote. There is no increase in critical care admissions, it’s a rebound, not a wave.” It must be said that polling institutes already fear a record abstention rate, but the fear of COVID-19 could deter some voters from going to the polling station on polling days.
What is the health protocol planned in the polling stations?
The Ministry of the Interior has modeled itself on the first level of health measures to decide on the protocol to be applied in the polling stations on April 10 and 24 for the two rounds of the 2022 presidential election. the polling stations will not be bound by any obligation, here are the details of the measures:
- The presentation ofno proofsuch as “proof of vaccination, a certificate of recovery or completion of a virological test” will only be necessary to access the polling stations.
- “Wearing a mask and the rules of physical distancing are not compulsory in the polling stations”. the wearing a mask however, is highly recommended for the elderly, immunocompromised, chronically ill and fragile, as well as for their caregivers; symptomatic people; people with high-risk contact cases and people who have tested positive for covid-19, up to 7 days after their release from isolation. Note that voters wearing a mask may be asked to remove it briefly to verify their identity.
- The number of people in the polling stations will not be limited to any gauge but the poll organizers can reserve the right to regulate access. On the other hand, entry and exit from polling stations must be differentiated to limit promiscuity. It is specified that fragile people will be able to request priority access from outside the polling station.
- From surgical masks and hand washing points with hydroalcoholic gel will be made available voters and poll organizers. For people “participating in the organization or conduct of the ballot” self-tests will also be available.
- All the material made available to voters will be cleaned and disinfected regularly during the polls.
- Polling stations must be ventilated for ten minutes every hour or as recommended by a CO2 sensor for establishments equipped with such devices.