This year, the exercise of democracy will come with disinfectant - and some new polling places.

Gov. Mike DeWine announced Monday that dozens of polling places for the March 17 primary will be relocated from nursing homes.

There'll be hand sanitizer at all 334 polling locations in Hamilton County to allay fears of the novel coronavirus, said Sherry Poland, director of the Hamilton County Board of Elections.

"A few weeks ago we started stocking up," Poland said.

They've also instructed poll workers to use disinfectant wipes regularly on the voting machines and areas touched often at the polling location.

Ditto for Butler County, said Eric Corbin, deputy director of the Butler County Board of Elections. They have enough sanitizer and disinfectant wipes for all 88 polling locations, he said, but are still trying to buy more.

That's not easy since hand sanitizer is flying off the shelves.

"We're having a fun time trying to find all the supplies," Corbin said. "We don't have as much as we would like to have. We have enough, but we want more. We want to make sure."

Some polling locations will move

Gov. Mike DeWine announced Monday 75 polling locations statewide in nursing homes will be moved.

Hamilton County Board of Elections staff didn't immediately have the list of polling places that would affect. Polsand said they were collecting that data Monday afternoon.

Vote from home

If that's not enough and you want to avoid crowds altogether, there's still a little time to request an absentee ballot by mail. But time is running out.

County boards of elections need to receive the application for a ballot by noon on Saturday. If the ballot is sent through the mail, it must be postmarked no later than March 16 and received by the Board of Elections within 10 days of the election.

You can also drop off absentee ballots in person at the board of elections by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day.

You can download the application for a mail-in ballot on the Hamilton County Board of Elections web site, votehamiltoncountyohio.gov.

Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, a former Ohio secretary of state, urged people to vote by mail in the upcoming primary. "Your vote will count," he said.

Election officials recommend not waiting until the last minute on Saturday to request a ballot as there's no guarantee it'll get through the mail on time.

Secretary of State Frank LaRose's office will hold a press conference Tuesday morning to address Election Day preparedness in the face of the coronavirus.

"We are certainly taking this situation seriously and have been engaged with our county boards of elections for quite some time, including providing them with best practices as recommended by the CDC and Ohio Department of Health," LaRose spokeswoman Maggie Sheehan said in a text message.

More:Ohio voter guide: March 17, 2020 primary election

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