(Photo : Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FLORIDA - AUGUST 11: Poll workers help a voter put their mail-in ballot in an official Miami-Dade County ballot drop box on August 11, 2020 in Miami, Florida. The secure drop boxes at polling stations allow voters to drop off the state’s Primary Election Vote-By-Mail ballots and skip any voting lines as people try to vote and stay healthy during the coronavirus pandemic. The ballot drop box is also a way to securely deliver a voting ballot to the polling station and not have to mail the Vote-By-Mail ballot through the U.S. Postal Service.
On Sunday, United States President Donald Trump shared that top infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci has advised that in-person voting is plausible amid the coronavirus pandemic and that there is no reason for it not to be done.
In a tweet by Trump, he quoted Fauci saying that if the voting is done carefully and people adhere to the guidelines it is not impossible to hold the voting at polling places.
“If carefully done, according to the guidelines, there is no reason why you shouldn’t be able to do that (vote at polling place).” Doctor Anthony Fauci — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 16, 2020
The statement was made by Fauci during an appearance at a National Geographic event that was aired on the same day that Trump shared the statement.
According to the New York Post, when Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was asked about the concerns regarding the elections and voting at polling places amid the outbreak, he stated that as long as the guidelines are followed it is possible.
However, Fauci also stated that observation of measures that could help curb the spread of the virus should be done. Such measures include physical distancing by 6-feet, and wearing face masks. He also warned people with weak immune systems or are immunocompromised to not take the chance since it may endanger their health.
Moreover, Fauci also said that those who do not want to go to polling centers still have the option of mail-in voting.
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76% of Americans Can Vote by Mail in 2020
Meanwhile, despite Trump's disapproval of mail-in voting, around 76% of Americans will be eligible to vote via mail for the upcoming 2020 presidential elections.
In an analysis by the New York Times, this is the highest number of citizens that will be able to receive a ballot via mail-in US history. Moreover, experts have predicted that if the trend continues at least 80 million ballots are expected to arrive in election offices via mail this fall, a number that doubles the 2016 turnout.
The sudden change in the way many Americans will be voting is due to the coronavirus pandemic that has made leaving homes unsafe. There has been a rising amount of concern regarding the potential of virus transmission in polling places, thus, many states have decided to shift to mail-in voting.
In a statement by California secretary of state and also chair of the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State, Alex Padilla, he pointed out that this is the first time in the history of the US that such a significant change in the way of administering the elections happened over a short period.
However, it can be noted that most of the changes are only temporary and were only put in place due to the current health crisis.
In total, Washington DC and 26 states have increased the access of voters to mail ballots for the election in view of the pandemic. The goal of the changes is to make it easier and safer for people to cast their votes without putting themselves at risk of infection. While in other states that have maintained their rules, counties have taken similar efforts to make voting more accessible to people.
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