Washington High School (2525 N. Sherman Blvd.) was one of five in-person voting locations open April 7 for the presidential primary and spring election in the City of Milwaukee. Typically, there are 180 polling locations open, but staffing shortages that were a result of the COVID-19 pandemic forced the city cut 175 locations.
Here are some photographs taken by local resident Aaron McDowell.
1 of 5
Photo credit: Aaron McDowell
2 of 5
Photo credit: Aaron McDowell
3 of 5
Photo credit: Aaron McDowell
4 of 5
Photo credit: Aaron McDowell
5 of 5
Photo credit: Aaron McDowell
According to McDowell, he arrived at the polling place around 7 a.m. At the time, the voting line was six blocks long.
"I arrived at around 7 a.m., and found street parking quickly. The line began in front of the building, and MPD had a pretty heavy presence, but seemed relaxed. As the doors opened at 8 a.m., the line moved along,and the crowd was quietly reserved in mood. Volunteers wearing masks and gloves patrolled the line. They asked if folks were registered, put down blue tape at 6 ft. intervals and seemed pretty coordinated. Some of the older folks in line stretched and knelt down to a crouch as we approached the building.
"Inside, they had a separate exit from the entrance to control traffic, and there were lots of volunteers to shepherd people. They had a handheld device to confirm the voters' correct ward. The check-in looked at my ID, but didn't touch. They confirmed the information, and gave me a black pen to keep after using on the ballot. This was on the left of the gym, with a large barrier to partition from the right side, where the booths were located. At the end of the line were several machines to accept the completed ballots, and I got a sticker to wear afterwards.
|
|
"Overall, the professionalism of the staff was commendable, the issue with the 2 hours from entering the line to leaving was due to the sheer volume."
You can see more photos here.
