Can COVID testing and voting coexist? Clint Didier raises issue at Pasco center

Franklin County Commissioner Clint Didier is insisting drive-thru COVID-19 testing at the HAPO Center in Pasco be moved because of the upcoming election.

He wants the testing tent moved farther from the ballot drop box before voters begin returning ballots as soon as next week for the August primary.

The current setup could intimidate voters and make access to the drop box too difficult, he told the Herald.

And Franklin County Auditor Matt Beaton agrees.

He said the optics for voters arriving to drop off ballots is not good — long lines of cars, soldiers and hazmat suits — and could have a chilling effect on dropping off ballots.

“My goal is to meet both the community’s testing needs and the community’s ability to vote as easily as possible,” Beaton said.

2 public testing sites

Two Washington National Guard teams have been deployed to the Tri-Cities to offer free COVID-19 testing at both the former TRAC site off Road 68 in west Pasco and at the Toyota Center in Kennewick.

Didier said he received calls from county residents asking why testing for the coronavirus was being done so close to one of the most popular ballot boxes.

He stopped by Wednesday morning to check it out and had started taking photos when a soldier approached him.

Didier said that he was asked to leave, but said he was a county commissioner and was at the county-owned center in an official capacity.

The soldier believed Didier was claiming the testing site was not necessary, according to a National Guard spokeswoman.

But Didier maintains his concern was only that the testing area needed to be moved away from the drive-up ballot box.

He said he does not oppose testing and anyone who wants testing should be able to get it.

In fact, Didier said he was tested for antibodies to the coronavirus after becoming sick following a business trip to the Seattle area in February.

The test result was negative, but that may have been because the test was too long after he was ill, he said.

The free testing by the National Guard is for active cases of COVID-19, rather than a test for antibodies that can indicate whether a person was previously exposed.

Drop box access

When free testing began on June 17, the testing operations blocked access to the ballot drop box, though no election was underway.

Testing activities were moved farther from the box, but Beaton said it still remains closer than he would like. Washington is a vote-by-mail state so all ballots are mailed or dropped in public ballot boxes.

A meeting with the HAPO Center staff was planned on Thursday to discuss a new location at the center for the drive-thru testing, Beaton said.

It needs to be done before ballots start to be returned for what Beaton expects will be a primary with a large turnout.

Beaton is on the ballot in a race for Franklin County commissioner against incumbent Brad Peck and another challenger Kim Lehrman. Didier is supporting Beaton in the race.

Didier said, speaking both as a county commissioner and as the chairman of the Franklin County Republic Party, that he wants “a fair election” with “free, easy access to voting.”

The drop box near the entrance to the HAPO Center is the most used ballot box in the county, he said, estimating that the COVID testing now is about 20 yards away from the ballot box.

He’s concerned that the car line for testing could interfere with voters being able to pull their cars through to the ballot box and that seeing soldiers in gear for protection from the coronavirus could intimidate potential voters.

He’s also concerned about any risk to medically vulnerable voters at the drop box, he said. The elderly need to be protected, he said.

Beaton said a solution should not be difficult.

There is plenty of outdoor space available on the HAPO Center property to relocate the drive-thru testing car line and tent, he said.

The National Guard is providing the free testing in cooperation with the Benton Franklin Health District, the Washington state Department of Health, and Emergency Management of Benton and Franklin counties.

The local health district worked closely with management of the HAPO Center on where to set up the drive-thru testing, said Kathleen Clary-Cooke, spokeswoman for the health district.

The health district was not aware of any concerns about the testing location, but if there are any they will be addressed, she said.

The free testing is available without an appointment on a first-come, first-served basis at both the Kennewick and Pasco sites from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.

This story was originally published July 8, 2020 at 4:27 PM.