The number of poll workers who have told elections officials they will not be able to work this Tuesday rose to 762 on Sunday night. The losses prompted a call-out Sunday from elections chief Wendy Link’s office to county workers and the general public.

WEST PALM BEACH Concerns about the spread of the coronavirus aren’t keeping people from casting ballots in this year’s primary, but they are keeping hundreds of from poll workers at home in Palm Beach County.

The number of poll workers who have told elections officials they will not be able to work this Tuesday rose to 762 on Sunday night, Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Wendy Link said.

That leaves her with 2,848 poll workers scheduled for Tuesday’s primary election, she said.

Many poll workers in Palm Beach County are over the age of 60, the demographic group most at risk for complications from the coronavirus. That population segment has been advised by health and government officials to limit their public exposure.

The losses prompted a call-out Sunday from Link’s office to county workers and the general public. A Monday morning class was the last session Link had scheduled to train new poll workers, but she said she would schedule another if enough people respond. She hopes to have 50 people at each class.

"We are encouraging those who are able to come, to come," Link said.

At least five workers are needed to run each polling location, with seven to 10 workers the average, depending on the polling site’s size, Link said.

With her current staffing, she said she "technically" would have enough people for all 454 polling locations in Palm Beach County.

"That’s not ideal, but we could do it with five people," she said.

That also would give her a few people who would fill in for those may still tell her on Tuesday morning that they have decided to stay home. Anyone left over would be sent to help at the busier voting sites, Link said.

Some locations have seen all of the scheduled poll workers drop out because of coronavirus concerns, she said.

"Right now, we’re contacting poll workers asking them if they’re willing to move," she said. "It’s a very manual process."

Poll workers are paid. Those interested in learning more can call the Supervisor of Elections office at 561-656-6200.

Link also said the county is taking precautions to protect poll workers. Poll workers are given gloves, disinfecting wipes and hand sanitizer, she said.

In addition, Link has been working to deal with required changes in some precinct locations.

Link said in a news conference Sunday afternoon that she has to move 19 polling locations that were at assisted living facilities, or group or nursing homes.

>> SCROLL DOWN FOR THE FULL LIST OF MOVED PRECINCTS

What is clear is the electorate is weighing in.

Four years ago, about 2.1 million people voted early or by mail, with nearly 1.26 million people choosing the latter.

By the time early voting polling sites opened Sunday, about 1.9 million Floridians had voted early either in person or by mail, according to the state Department of Elections website.

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Of those 1.9 million voters, nearly 1.3 million cast their ballots by mail, already surpassing the total vote-by-mail ballots cast in the last presidential primary in 2016 by about 40,000.

This year, though, there is a big difference on the ballot: There were two competitive presidential primaries in 2016, with Republicans and Democrats fielding several candidates heading into early April.

The race for the Democratic presidential nomination is the only hot presidential primary contest this year, with Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders edging toward the 1,991 delegates required to lead the party into the November election.

While Republicans may still vote in this year’s primary, President Donald Trump has handily swept each state so far. Still, Republicans here and other states have urged their party’s rank-and-file to vote as a sign of support for the president.

Palm Beach County in particular has seen a rise in vote-by-mail and early voting ballots.

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As of Saturday, about 116,000 people had voted by mail or at an early polling location, state numbers show. That is up 8,000 over the total in 2016, with Sunday still to go.

The county, however, has already seen a massive jump in ballots cast by mail, going from about 54,000 in 2016 to nearly 81,000, the state statistics show.

In-person early voting dropped from about 54,000 to about 35,000, although that number is not final and polling places could see a surge on Sunday, the final day of early voting.

Owen Haughton, 57, of Royal Palm Beach stood in line Sunday afternoon to vote early at the Wellington branch library.

A regular early voter, Haughton said he felt it was particularly important to get to the polls before primary day this year because there are so many important issues that could be decided in the presidential race.

But one new addition to his and his wife’s early voting routine: hand sanitizer. They brought some from home as added protection against COVID-19.

"We’re looking at something unknown," he said of the virus. "Just want to be safe."

Voters on Tuesday are asked to bring their own stylus or black pen, and they will be asked to wash their hands after voting. Poll workers regularly wipe down all surfaces, Link said.

Voters or their designees with a signed affidavit also have time to pick up and return an "over-the-counter" vote-by-mail ballot. The main Supervisor of Elections office will be open 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Tuesday and branch offices in Delray Beach, Belle Glade and Palm Beach Gardens will be open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and Tuesday.

For updates and more information, go to www.pbcelections.org.

POLLING PLACE CHANGES

The following voting precincts have moved:

– Precincts 1110, 1112, 1114, 1116 and 1118 will vote at Tequesta Council Chambers (345 Tequesta Dr., Tequesta).

– Precinct 1136 will vote at the 1st United Methodist Church of Jupiter-Tequesta (815 E. Indiantown Road, Jupiter).

– Precinct 1214 will vote at Juno Beach Town Center (340 Ocean Dr., Juno Beach).

– Precinct 2041 will vote at Wynnebrook Elementary (1167 Drexel Road, West Palm Beach).

– Precinct 3062 will vote at Our Savior Lutheran Church (1615 Lake Ave., Lake Worth Beach).

– Precincts 3144 and 3146 will vote at Freedom Shores Elementary (3400 Hypoluxo Road, Boynton Beach).

– Precinct 4016 will vote at Christ Fellowship Church Boynton Beach (801 N. Congress Ave., Boynton Beach).

– Precinct 4118 will vote at Orchard View Elementary (4050 Old Germantown Road, Delray Beach).

– Precincts 4174, 4176 and 4178 will vote at Sugar Sand Park Community Center (300 S. Military Trail, Boca Raton).

– Precinct 4180 will vote at Del Prado Elementary (7900 Del Prado Circle, Boca Raton).

– Precinct 4182 will vote at Greater Boca Raton Swim and Racquet Center (21618 St. Andrews Blvd., Boca Raton).

– Precinct 4192 will vote at Our Lady of Lourdes Church (22094 Lyons Road, Boca Raton).

– Precinct 4208 will vote at Hammock Pointe Elementary (8400 S.W. Eighth St., Boca Raton).

– Precincts 5078, 5080 and 5082 will vote at Bethel Evangelical Baptist (5780 W. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach).

– Precincts 7078 and 7080 will vote at Egret Lake Elementary (5115 47th Place N., West Palm Beach).

– Precinct 7126 will vote at First Christian Church (215 S. Congress Ave., West Palm Beach).

– Precincts 7196 and 7198 will vote at Atlantic High School (2475 W. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach).

kwebb@pbpost.com

@kristinawebb