Fayette County elections workers to receive Covid-19 masks, gloves, other PPE

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is working with the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency to keep Georgia’s poll workers and elections officials safe from Covid-19.

Raffensperger coordinated with Fayette County elections officials to request masks, face shields, gloves, and disinfecting wipes to protect both elections staff and voters in November. GEMA/HS has agreed to fulfill the full request and will ship the requested PPE directly to county elections officials.

“In-person voting remains an important way for Georgia voters to access the ballot so I am doing whatever I can to make that experience safe and easy,” said Raffensperger. “I want to thank GEMA for their past and continued support of elections in Fayette county and across Georgia with much-needed personal protective equipment. This will enable our poll workers and local officials to provide safe and secure ballot access to the millions of in-person voters expected in November.”

A total of 153 counties are requesting more PPE through the Office of the Secretary of State and GEMA/HS. Fayette County requested 1,000 masks, 1,000 face shields, 20 pairs of gloves, and 100 boxes of disinfectant wipes.

Shortly after the request was made, GEMA/HS said they would be able to fulfill the requests and would ship the requested PPE directly to Fayette County election officials for use on election day.

The PPE request comes on top of an order for 11,000 gallons of hand sanitizer that the Office of the Secretary of State placed earlier this year. The hand sanitizer will be distributed to the counties ahead of the November elections.