Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
With Citizenship Ceremonies On Hold, Hundreds Of Thousands Might Not Be Able To Vote In November
The Washington Post: With Citizenship Ceremonies Postponed Due To Coronavirus, Hundreds Of Thousands Could Miss Chance To Vote In November
Hundreds of thousands of potential voters will be ineligible to cast ballots in November unless the Trump administration resumes citizenship ceremonies and clears a pandemic-related backlog of immigrants waiting to take the naturalization oath, according to rights groups and lawmakers from both parties. President Trump, who claims falsely that millions of immigrants vote illegally in U.S. elections, now has the ability to effectively deny a large number of foreign-born Americans from becoming legally eligible to register ahead of the next presidential election. (Miroff, 5/27)
NPR: Coronavirus Blocks Naturalization Ceremonies In Election Year
An estimated 860,000 people were set to become citizens — with many also expected to become first-time voters. The crimp in the pipeline of new citizens is one of a series of unexpected challenges that could reshape the electorate ahead of the November general election. About a quarter of naturalized citizens live in Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania and Georgia, all potentially key states in the fall election, according to data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. (Lopez, 5/28)
The Associated Press: Will Mail-In Voting Turn Election Day Into Election Week?
A shift to mail voting is increasing the chances that Americans will not know the winner of November’s presidential race on election night, a scenario that is fueling worries about whether President Donald Trump will use the delay to sow doubts about the results. State election officials in some key battleground states have recently warned that it may take days to count what they expect will be a surge of ballots sent by mail out of concern for safety amid the pandemic. In an election as close as 2016′s, a delayed tally in key states could keep news organizations from calling a winner. (Riccardi, 5/27)
CNN: Texas Supreme Court Blocks Vote-By-Mail Expansion To Those Lacking Immunity To The Coronavirus
The Texas Supreme Court on Wednesday blocked a push to expand vote-by-mail to registered voters in the state amid the pandemic, saying that a lack of immunity to the coronavirus does not count as a "disability" for which a voter can apply for a mail-in ballot. "We agree with the State that a voter's lack of immunity to COVID-19, without more, is not a 'disability' as defined by the Election Code. But the State acknowledges that election officials have no responsibility to question or investigate a ballot application that is valid on its face," the opinion delivered by Chief Justice Nathan Hecht said. (Mena, 5/27)
The New York Times: Biden’s Testing Strategy Sets Up A Clear Contrast With Trump On The Coronavirus
Joseph R. Biden Jr. has proposed harnessing the broad powers of the federal government to step up coronavirus testing, with a public-private board overseeing test manufacturing and distribution, federal safety regulators enforcing testing at work and at least 100,000 contact tracers tracking down people exposed to the virus. The presumptive Democratic nominee’s plan, laid out in a little-noticed Medium post, stands in stark contrast to President Trump’s leave-it-to-the-states strategy, detailed in an 81-page document released over the weekend. And it presents voters in November with a classic philosophical choice over the role they want Washington to play during the worst public health crisis in a century. (Stolberg, 5/28)
