"We must not add psychosis to psychosis! »Mayor of Auray (Morbihan), in a department which is now one of the four centers of contamination with the new coronavirus in France, Joseph Rochelle" does not ask for the postponement "of the municipal elections scheduled for March 15 and 22. This is also the line of the government, despite the epidemic at stage 2 which is spreading in the country and the calls for a postponement issued by some other elected officials in the most affected areas.
The ballot being maintained, in any case "at present" as the executive specifies, it remains to organize it. But between those who worry about the use of pens and ballots or electronic voting machines, and others who fear they will run out of assessors, the health crisis risks disrupting its development. While more than 45 million French people are called to the polls, the instructions not to shake hands and sneeze in your elbow may not be enough.
Masks and hydroalcoholic product in polling stations
Several town halls have already announced that masks and bottles of hydroalcoholic gel will be available near the voting booths. That of Cannes said Tuesday that the 57 polling stations in the town will also be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected.
“The question of organization will especially arise from next Monday. I will take all the necessary measures that the prefecture and the regional health authority will recommend to me, ”confides Joseph Rochelle to Auray. For the moment, he must "manage the emergency" on a daily basis, while a first patient died in Morbihan on Tuesday. "Very clearly, we are moving towards a generalization of the installation of masks and hydroalcoholic gels in polling stations," said the Association of Mayors of France (AMF).
Other elected officials question the use of "voting machines", which are available to a small part of French municipalities (only 70 out of 35,000, according to the Ministry of the Interior). In Orange (Var), city councilor Gilles Laroyenne wrote to the prefect asking him to return to the paper vote. His fear? That these electronic installations do not become a source of contamination and do not "put in contact in an indirect way the whole population of Orange", he indicated to the Dauphiné Libéré.
According to a German study, COVID-19 could remain present for up to nine days on certain non-disinfected surfaces. These machines “are already cleaned before viruses go to vote”, reassures the AMF. A Parisian elected official laughs yellow: “We are going crazy. Do you imagine a person passing a product hit on the screen with each pass? ".
The Interior Ministry is examining the situation on a day-to-day basis, and is expected to issue health recommendations shortly before the election. These could be "on a case by case" basis according to the zones, according to a senior official.
Hesitant assessors
In order for each voter to enter the voting booth, it will still be necessary to have the required number of assessors. These citizen volunteers are responsible for welcoming voters and verifying that their identity is on the signature lists. Each office must have a president and "at least two assessors", according to the electoral code.
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Some communities have already seen volunteers drop out for fear of catching the coronavirus. In Pavillon-sous-Bois (Seine-Saint-Denis), one of them, aged 70, said that he did not want to "take a risk" by meeting dozens or even hundreds of people, according to Senator LR and city councilor Philippe Dallier. A fear perhaps exaggerated, Pavillon-sous-Bois having no detected case of coronavirus.
First withdrawal of an assessor at the Pavillons-sous-Bois. I don't want to take risks at 70 ... It will be complicated at the polling stations.
- Philippe Dallier (@philippedallier) March 2, 2020"In general, it is much better to find the assessors at the municipal level than at other elections because it concerns people more. But here, what worries me is above all that the assessors withdraw without warning and that we find ourselves in want on Sunday morning, ”warns Philippe Dallier.
In the event of a shortage on D-Day, the president of the polling station calls on the voters present or on elected municipal officials, provides for the Constitutional Council. "Some told us that depending on the situation, they might not come," says Joseph Rochelle. As six lists are in the running at Auray, the city councilor hopes to be able to count, at worst, on volunteers within the campaign teams. This Thursday morning, on France Info, the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo also indicated that she would write to all the heads of lists in Paris to ask them to "mobilize their activists".
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