Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Tuesday's Primaries Offer States Chance To Test Drive Turn-Out Strategies, Mail-In-Voting Process
The Associated Press: Primaries Become Test Run For Campaigning During Coronavirus
Tuesday’s primaries in eight states are the biggest test to date of campaigning during the coronavirus era, a way for parties to test-drive new ways of getting out the vote during a time when it can be dangerous to leave your home. Voters from Pennsylvania to Iowa to New Mexico will cast ballots in both the Democratic presidential contest, where former Vice President Joe Biden is the only contender with an active campaign, and a host of down-ballot primaries for everything from governors to state representatives. (Riccardi and Levy, 6/1)
The Wall Street Journal: Voting By Mail To Face Biggest Test Since Pandemic Started
States voting Tuesday have taken varied approaches. Indiana announced that it would temporarily allow any voter to request an absentee ballot without a specific reason. Maryland pledged to send all voters a ballot, skipping the application process. And states are grappling with how to safely open at least some in-person polling sites. Many local officials said they saw a flood of ballot requests. A Pennsylvania law passed last year allows any registered voter to vote by mail, but the pandemic created a surge of requests that outstripped officials’ expectations. More than 1.8 million voters have applied for a mail ballot, more than 18 times the number in the 2016 primary election. (Corse, 6/1)
NPR: Mail-In Voting Legal Fights Amid Pandemic Focus On Ballot Signatures
With the widespread expansion of vote-by-mail this year in response to the pandemic, both major political parties and their allies are waging an intense legal battle to shape the rules around absentee and mail-in voting. The details matter a lot and could affect the outcome in November. (Fessler, 6/1)
The Wall Street Journal: New York Election Officials Expect Surge In Absentee Ballots For Primary
Election administrators in New York are bracing for a crush of paper ballots for the state’s June 23 primary contests as voters avoid the polls to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order in April allowing any state voter to apply for an absentee ballot, and then told county officials who administer elections that they had to mail an application for an absentee ballot to every voter with an active contest on the ballot. (Vielkind, 5/31)
NBC News: America Pulled Off An Election During The Spanish Flu, But Not Without Paying A Price
President Woodrow Wilson and the Democrats were fiercely fighting to maintain control of Congress during the 1918 November midterm elections. With much of the nation hunkered down under quarantine orders with social distancing and mandatory masks, conducting an election was proving to be daunting. But with World War I still raging on, a heightened sense of patriotism swept the country. Despite the strict orders in place, voting was considered essential at the time. (Clark, 6/1)
In other election news —
The New York Times: In Seeking To Hold Michigan, Trump Can Be His Own Worst Enemy
A day before his visit in May to Michigan, where unemployment has climbed to 23 percent and flooding had grown severe enough to make national headlines, President Trump threatened to “hold up funding” for a state he almost certainly must carry to win re-election. The rationale behind this extraordinary warning and apparent act of self-sabotage? Two years after Michigan residents overwhelmingly approved no-excuse absentee voting, the secretary of state, Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, said she would send absentee ballot applications to all voters. (Martin and Gray, 5/31)
Kaiser Health News and Politifact HealthCheck: Democratic Super PAC Uses Familiar Political Play To Hit Trump On Medicare
Priorities USA Action, a Democratic super PAC, announced a new digital and TV ad series criticizing President Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. Among the ads is a 15-second spot, titled “Pause,” that alleges Trump is trying to cut Medicare during the global health emergency.“ Our lives are on pause. We’re worried about our health. So why is Trump still trying to cut our Medicare? $451 billion in cuts in the middle of a deadly pandemic. Trump is putting us at risk,” the commercial’s narrator says. (Knight, 6/1)
