New Voter Registrations Plummet As COVID Hamstrings Volunteers’ Recruitment Efforts
In a normal year, volunteers would target festivals and other gatherings where they could register new voters. But the outbreak has thrown a wrench in those plans. In other election news: blind voters worry about privacy.
The New York Times:
Covid-19 Changed How We Vote. It Could Also Change Who Votes.
In a normal election year, volunteers from the Columbus, Ohio, chapter of the League of Women Voters would have spent last weekend at the Columbus Arts Fair, pens and clipboards in hand, looking to sign up new voters among the festival’s 400,000 or so attendees. This is not a normal election year. “There are absolutely no festivals this summer,” said Jen Miller, the executive director of the league’s state chapter. “We don’t have volunteers at tables. We don’t have volunteers roving with clipboards. Obviously, we’re just not doing that.” (Wines, 6/14)
The Wall Street Journal:
It’s Not Too Late To Save The 2020 Election
On Tuesday, citizens in Georgia stood in lines for hours to vote—and some just gave up. The state struggled to handle its primary election, hobbled amid the coronavirus pandemic by a shortage of poll workers and polling places. The Atlanta Journal Constitution called it “an ordeal for voters.” And with Georgia potentially in play between President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden, more than twice as many voters are expected in November, the paper noted. (Persily, 6/12)
The Associated Press:
Blind Voters Fear Loss Of Privacy With Shift To Mail Voting
Not that long ago, Ann Byington had to squeeze into a voting booth with a Republican poll watcher on one side and a Democrat on the other reading her voting choices out loud so her ballot could be marked for her and the selections verified. Blind since birth, Byington welcomed the rise in recent years of electronic voting machines equipped with technology that empowered her and others with disabilities to cast their ballots privately and independently. (Cassidy, 6/14)
