Axios: Mail-in ballots are becoming states’ saving grace for their 2020 primary contests as the coronavirus crisis deepens in the U.S.
Why it matters: Amid CDC guidance that gatherings shouldn’t exceed 50 people, the states voting today — Arizona, Florida and Illinois — all have multiple confirmed cases of the illness and are pushing citizens to consider their mail-in options.
- Ohio was also set to vote on Tuesday, but has declared a public health emergency, postponing its primaries because of concerns about coronavirus.
- Its state Democratic Party chairman David Pepper released a statement that included another alternative: conduct the primary entirely by vote-by-mail.
- In a Monday press release email sent out from Joe Biden’s campaign about an Ohio tele-town hall, it concluded: “If you’re a member of an at-risk population or have been exposed to a diagnosed case of coronavirus, we encourage you to explore absentee ballots and vote by mail options, including emergency voting exceptions in your state.”
The big picture: Coronavirus has presented a new analog twist to the election — a race that was expected to be so technologically advanced, Iowa once considered adopting digital caucuses.
- Its lasting effects could mean polling places and voting lines are on the chopping block for future U.S. contests.