Exclusive: Fewer poll workers, coronavirus, spark fears of election day woes in Ohio Democratic primary

FILE PHOTO: Robert Harrison, 96, arrives to vote while wearing a mask to prevent exposure to novel coronavirus, in Hamilton, Ohio, U.S., March 12, 2020. REUTERS/Bryan Woolston/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nearly a quarter of Ohio's counties are deploying fewer poll workers for the state's Democratic primary on Tuesday than they have in previous presidential election years, raising concerns from voting-rights advocates who say the reductions could lengthen lines at the polls.

Thanks to a change in state law last year, at least 1,200 fewer poll workers are slated to be on duty than in past federal elections, according to a Reuters analysis of staffing projections supplied by county election boards across Ohio.