Butler County's primary election during the COVID-19 pandemic seemed to go smoothly enough, although one county commissioner was pressed into service as a poll worker for a short time.

Trish Lindsay, who served as judge of elections for Buffalo Township Precinct 3, said her fellow workers didn't turn up Tuesday morning, which delayed the 7 a.m. opening of the polling station at the White Star Club.

“What happened is we did not have a full contingent. I couldn't be sworn in, and I couldn't swear in anyone else,” Lindsay said.

Poll workers need to be sworn in for security purposes before they can open voter rolls or set up voting machines. Lindsay called County Commissioner Leslie Osche.

“When she arrived, she was the only person there,” Osche said. “I think there was some confusion as to where they should show up. I went down and we were able to get County Chief Clerk Lori Altman to swear her (Lindsay) in by phone.”

Then, Lindsay was able to swear in Osche and another poll worker, and they were able to set up the polling station.

Lindsay said they were open for business by 9 a.m., and that a dozen would-be voters had to be turned away until the voting station was ready.

Osche said she put in about an hour as a poll worker until replacements arrived. She said she and her fellow commissioners had been traveling the county Tuesday “putting out little fires all day” at polling places.

“When they can't get through to the election office, they call us,” said Osche.

“This has been an anomaly election because of this one issue,” she added, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic's restrictions.

Those restrictions were evident at the Winfield Township polls in the township building.

The judge of elections there, Adam Hartwig, said poll workers were wearing masks and put tape on the floor to mark 6-foot spaces for social distancing.

The voting stations were also spaced 6 feet apart.

“We sanitize them after every use, and everybody gets to keep their pen,” said Hartwig. “They put their own ballot in the scanner.”

“The voters,” he said, “understand the situation. Whether people like it or not, these are the times we live in. We follow the protocol for each other.”

He said by early afternoon 240 ballots had been cast in Winfield Township. Eleven of those ballots were what he called provisional ballots.

Hartwig said these were ballots cast by voters who requested a mail-in ballot that hadn't been sent in.

The provisional ballots will be sent to the county election board to be checked to make sure no one voted twice.

“We've seen a lot of people,” said Hartwig. “Winfield Township is the precinct with the highest voter turnout.”

Contributing to those turnout numbers were Betty and Donald Strobel.

“We weren't a bit nervous about voting,” she said.

“They've got a pretty good setup there,” he said.

Both said they were voting in the Republican primary.

“We are Republicans, and we feel the Republicans are more for the working families now,” said Betty Strobel.

“Donald Trump is doing a fantastic job despite all the false media,” she added.

Michael and Christina Salasky also weren't afraid of coronavirus infection when they turned out to vote at the Jefferson Township Municipal Building.

“We figured it's not overcrowded, everybody gives you space,” she said.

Michael Salasky, who uses a wheelchair, added, “I trust in-person voting more than mail-in voting.”

No one was objecting to face masks and social distancing at Butler Precinct 2 at First United Methodist Church, said judge of elections Linda Baptiste.

“We've had no problem with people. No one's giving us any arguments,” said Baptiste.

Baptiste added that if this election were taking place at the start of the pandemic — before people had gotten accustomed to the preventative measures — it might have turned out differently.

Today, she said, the poll workers just have to worry about daylong snacking.

“We have tons of food. We eat all day long. We will all weigh 10 pounds more when we leave,” said Baptiste.