COVID-19 has caused problems in many areas. The impact on the primary and general elections and planning for those events later this year is still to be determined.Geary County Clerk Rebecca Nordyke said if there are any type of changes to how the elections are conducted officials largely have to wait on direction from the secretary of state or the governor's office. Nordyke does not anticipate any changes in how elections are conducted, at least not for the primary. "Trying to get ready is extremely challenging. We are working extremely hard here to try take into consideration the safety of our board workers, the safety of my staff and the safety of the voters."Nordyke said some changes may be necessary to accommodate social distancing. "Some people may not want to show up to the polling places so we're already seeing a larger number than normal of who people who are requesting a ballot be mailed to their homes, and we're certainly fine with that and are happy to accommodate that. "She noted at this point there has not yet been enough directions from the Secretary of State's Office.Nordyke noted there have been attempts to obtain PPE items such as hand sanitizers and masks but resources are small, and it's unclear that they can obtain by the time of the elections. " The Secretary of State's Office is working on doing a state contracting order to get some of those things and get them sent out to the counties for our polling places so a lot of people are working really hard on it."

Preparing for elections could prove challenging in 2020