Failed Trump challenger Hillary Clinton (D) warned on Tuesday that Americans could “lose their right to vote” in the age of the Chinese coronavirus unless leaders act and institute vote by mail.
“States and the federal government need to act with urgency now to make sure people don’t effectively lose their right to vote this fall because of COVID-19,” Clinton warned.
“Every citizen must be able to cast a ballot safely by mail,” she added, providing a link to a New York Times article titled, “Will Americans Lose Their Right to Vote in the Pandemic?”:
The Times’ piece paints a dire picture and largely relies on Wisconsin’s April 7 primary, concluding that it shows that “the coronavirus can block access to the ballot just as it has closed stores and schools and so much other civic activity”:
The United States prides itself on its democracy in theory — but this year, not necessarily in practice. What if Philadelphia runs out of absentee ballots? What if a swing state can’t count its avalanche of mail-in ballots on election night, and the media races to call a winner, and then the final tabulation changes it — and then there’s a dispute over signature-matching? The 2020 results may well be too early to call for days. A candidate who warns now about fraud and chaos, as Trump is ceaselessly doing, is sowing the seeds for his supporters to distrust the results if he loses.
Several Democrats have used the Wisconsin primary as a means to pitch vote by mail for November, even though recent data has not provided a compelling public health justification for the Democrats’ go-to alternative: Vote by mail.
Only 52 people who were either poll workers or voters were reported to have contracted the virus following Election Day, which drew over 400,000 participants.
None of the cases were fatal, equaling an infection rate below two-hundredths of one percent. Additionally, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services indicated that several of those individuals who tested positive “also reported other ways they may have been exposed to the virus.”
Nevertheless, Democrats are increasing their calls for vote by mail, which GOP critics warn drastically increases the chances of voter fraud.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) earned praise from Clinton following last week’s decision to authorize vote by mail for the November election.
“I hope other governors around the country follow @GavinNewsom’s lead,” Clinton said. “No voter should be forced to choose between their safety and exercising their civic duty this fall.”
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