Voting in Madison has been moved from the Town Office and Fire Department, seen here, to Old Point Avenue school to accommodated the expected crowds and abide by COVID-19 protocols, Town Manager Tim Curtis said Monday. Morning Sentinel file

MADISON — Voters are now being directed to a new site to deliver their absentee ballots and vote on Election Day.

Town Manager Tim Curtis said that this change was made due to a lack of space at the Town Office and Fire Department, where elections have traditionally been held.

He said that the voting location is now at an old school on Old Point Avenue and nearly $10,000 has been put into renovating the space, making both the entrance and exit comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act. This is the only location that people can go to vote and drop off absentee ballots.

“After the July state and local primaries, we realized that there is no way that we could facilitate large numbers of people and follow protocols,” Curtis said. “The Town Office/Fire Station is where we traditionally have held elections for years, but it was quite chaotic this year. We had to close down our counter where people can come to pay taxes because there were too many people coming in and voting.”

He said that the street address for the new location is 108 Old Point Ave., though if residents use a GPS, a more accurate address is 23 Locust St., which will take people to the parking lot on the back side of the school.

At the last presidential election in 2016, Curtis said about 2,500 came out to vote. In July, he said there were about 3,000 registered voters in Madison. So far, the town has received about 500 requests for absentee ballots, which Curtis said is a tremendous increase from previous elections.

Old Point Avenue has workers staffed from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and the ballot box is secured and locked. Masks are recommended and will be offered on Election Day, but nobody will be turned away if they are not wearing one.

“If people have questions, they can just call the Town Office,” Curtis said. “We want to make voting as easy as possible for people.”