LODI — Polling places at school sites are common. With Election Day right around the corner , how are officials ensuring students and voters are safe?
That’s the question some parents in Lodi have. Some say they do not want voters to be inside schools during school hours, but the county elections office said schools are needed to provide communities with more opportunities to vote.
A total of 16 schools within Lodi Unified will be open to the public as polling places — 13 of them are elementary schools.
Lois Borchardt Elementary School mom Kiara Juarez isn’t too comfortable with the idea of voters coming onto campus during school hours.
Her concern is security.
“With a lot of the school shootings that are going on, they’re just letting people into the school. I’m not sure if that’s exactly safe,” she said.
Olivia Hale, the San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters, said the county is hiring more personnel on Election Day to stop voters from wandering outside of the designated areas on campus.