CDC Releases Guidance Encouraging Voters To Seek Alternatives To Casting In-Person Ballot During Pandemic
The guidance was quietly issued on June 22, The Washington Post reports. One such alternative -- expanding the use of mail-in ballots -- has become a politically divisive issue with President Donald Trump adamantly against such efforts, despite the health risks of in-person voting. In other elections news: experts worry about November; candidates must shake up campaigning; and Massachusetts allows all residents to vote by mail.
The Washington Post:
In New Guidance, CDC Recommends Alternatives In Addition To In-Person Voting To Avoid Spreading Coronavirus
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending that voters consider alternatives to casting their ballots in person during upcoming elections, as states expand absentee and early voting options for November amid fears of spreading the coronavirus. The guidance was issued with little fanfare on June 22 and suggested that state and local election officials take steps to minimize crowds at voting locations, including offering “alternative voting methods.” President Trump has repeatedly claimed without evidence that one popular alternative — mail-in ballots — promotes widespread voter fraud. (Ye Hee Lee, 7/7)
Stateline:
Election Experts Warn Of November Disaster
After a presidential primary season plagued by long lines, confusion over mail-in voting and malfunctioning equipment, election experts are increasingly concerned about the resiliency of American democracy in the face of a global pandemic. With four months until the presidential election, the litany of unresolved issues could block some voters from casting ballots and lead many citizens to distrust the outcome of one of the most pivotal races of their lifetimes. (Vasilogambros, 7/8)
The Wall Street Journal:
Candidates Confront 2020 Election Campaigns Remade By Coronavirus
Politicians trying to campaign during the coronavirus pandemic are confronting the risks of courting voters in person and relying on newer, less-proven online operations that are fit for social distancing. The coronavirus lockdown forced campaigns online at an accelerated clip this spring, resulting in a flood of live-streamed candidate meet-and-greets, fundraisers via videoconference and virtual volunteer training sessions by Republicans and Democrats alike. (Glazer and Jamerson, 7/6)
CNN:
Massachusetts Governor Signs Bill Allowing All Voters To Vote By Mail
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed a bill on Monday allowing all registered voters in the Bay State to vote by mail in the primary and general elections this fall if they choose, his office confirmed to CNN. The new law means Massachusetts joins other states -- including Michigan, Nevada, California, New Hampshire and Wisconsin -- in moving to make it easier for more people to vote by mail as coronavirus infection numbers climb and states are forced to look ahead to the November election. (Ehrlich, 7/7)
In news from Joe Biden's campaign —
AP:
Biden Wants US To Produce More Of Its Own Pandemic Supplies
Joe Biden is promising to shift production of medical equipment and other key pandemic-fighting products “back to U.S. soil,” creating jobs and bolstering a domestic supply chain he says has been exposed as inadequate and vulnerable by the coronavirus outbreak. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee’s campaign released a plan Tuesday to reinforce stockpiles of a “range of critical products on which the U.S. is dangerously dependent on foreign suppliers” in places like China and Russia. (Weissert, 7/7)
BBC News:
Biden Vows To Reverse Trump WHO Withdrawal
US Democratic challenger Joe Biden has said he will reverse President Donald Trump's move to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO) "on day one" if he wins November's election. (7/8)
ABC News:
Biden Preparing For 'Multiple Scenarios' On COVID-19 Vaccine: Official
With the November election fewer than four months away and the number of coronavirus cases again surging in the United States, former vice president Joe Biden is preparing for a range of realities when it comes to dealing with the virus if he is elected president, according to an official. "I would say the vice president and the team are working through multiple scenarios. One of those scenarios would involve the existence of a vaccine, in which case, one of the biggest tasks would be the broad-based manufacture and equitable distribution of that vaccine which is an enormous logistical challenge," the official said on a call Tuesday morning. (Nagle and Verhovek, 7/7)
