‘These Are Extraordinary Circumstances’: States Grapple With How Best To Handle Voting During A Pandemic

The Associated Press: How The Coronavirus Is Upending American Politics
The most elemental act of American democracy — voting — will be tested Tuesday as four states set to hold presidential primaries confront the impact of a global pandemic that has turned everyday life upside-down. Leaders sent conflicting signals about how to approach the next steps amid the coronavirus outbreak. As health officials warned against gatherings of greater than 10 people, President Donald Trump said elections should proceed. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine went to court to try to push his state's primary into June while elections officials in Arizona, Illinois and Florida said they were moving forward with plans to vote. (Weissert, 3/16)

The Washington Post: Coronavirus Tests American Democracy As Planning Begins For ‘Worst Case’ In November Election
But it remains unclear whether life will return to normal in time for primaries later in the spring, national nominating conventions this summer, and even the November election for president, Congress, and other state and local races. The uncertainty highlights the vexed relationship between partisan politics and public health, as Biden seeks to lock up the nomination and as Trump strives to hold on to power while responding to an escalating global emergency. (Stanley-Becker and Gardner, 3/16)

The New York Times: Why The Coronavirus Might Not Hit Turnout Hard In Tuesday’s Primaries
Turnout is a question ahead of every election. It would be an understatement to say it is a more challenging question than usual ahead of Tuesday’s primaries, as voters head to the polls in Florida, Illinois and Arizona amid the coronavirus pandemic. Although it’s hard to forecast the impact of coronavirus on turnout, there are a few hard facts that, on balance, suggest it might have less of an effect than one might expect in Florida and Arizona. But Illinois might be somewhat more vulnerable to a decline in turnout. (Cohn, 3/17)

The New York Times: Ohio’s Governor Postpones Primary As Health Emergency Is Declared Over Virus 
Ohio’s governor on Monday night said he and top state health officials would ignore a court ruling and postpone Ohio’s presidential primary by declaring a public health emergency because of the coronavirus outbreak. The governor, Mike DeWine, said that the state’s health director, Dr. Amy Acton, had issued the order based on concerns that the coronavirus outbreak placed both voters and poll workers in potential danger. (Corasaniti and Saul, 3/16)

The Washington Post: Ohio Governor Says State Will Order Primary Polls Closed Tuesday, Citing ‘Health Emergency’ From Coronavirus
“During this time when we face an unprecedented public health crisis, to conduct an election tomorrow would force poll workers and voters to place themselves at an unacceptable health risk of contracting coronavirus,” Gov. Mike DeWine (R) said in a tweet. He also promised to push for a remedy through the courts “to extend voting options so that every voter who wants to vote will be granted that opportunity. ”The announcement was sure to create more uncertainty as voters, poll workers and county election officials received yet another reversal regarding the fate of Tuesday’s presidential primary, with voting set to begin at 6:30 a.m. (Gardner, Viebeck and Stanley-Becker, 3/16)

The New York Times: Arizona Primary: When Voting During A Pandemic Is A Way To Feel Normal
In dozens of interviews at polling places across the state this weekend, where early voting was underway, residents said voting felt like both an act of faith and defiance, even as other states were considering whether to move forward. By Monday, four states — Louisiana, Georgia, Ohio and Kentucky — had postponed or moved to postpone their primary elections, with more likely to follow. But Arizona was still set to hold its election on Tuesday as planned. State and local officials said they would make disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer available at polling places, and they encouraged those who could to vote by mail. (Medina, 3/16)

ABC News: Coronavirus Pandemic Upends Elections As 3 States Move Forward With Primaries 
Voters in Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Ohio are living in a vastly different world than voters who headed to the polls a week ago were living in. A day after six contests were held on March 10, the World Health Organization publicly characterized the novel coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic. Two days after that, on Friday, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency to respond to the crisis. (Scanlan, 3/17)

The Wall Street Journal: Coronavirus Draws Attention From Democratic Primaries
Three other states set to hold primaries Tuesday—Arizona, Florida and Illinois—appeared to be going forward as planned, but each state moved some polling places away from nursing homes and other vulnerable sites. On Monday, the Florida Democratic Party called on Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to release an updated statewide list of polling sites and said party workers had begun calling and texting more than 126,700 voters who, by their estimate, live in an affected precinct and haven’t yet voted. (Siddiqui, 3/16)

The New York Times: How Much Does Voting Spread Viruses?
Does voting spread disease? Common sense, and a basic understanding of how respiratory viruses spread, make it a reasonable question. We’ve conducted research on the subject — looking at the past five federal elections (presidential and midterm) — and concluded that past elections have not led to national surges of viral disease. (Jena, Woo and Worsham, 3/17)

The Hill: Klobuchar, Wyden Call For Expanded Mail-In And Early Voting Amid Coronavirus Outbreak 
Two Senate Democrats called Monday for the U.S. to expand by-mail voting and early voting in order to ensure that voter participation is not reduced by the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. In a Washington Post op-ed, Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) argued that Congress should pass emergency measures to expand nontraditional voting methods for all Americans as states across the country have wrestled with the prospects of delaying their primary elections due to the outbreak. (Bowden, 3/16)