Yesterday, 3,600 polling locations in Columbus, Ohio were shut down due to a public health order. This is because of the novel coronavirus that has swept through our nation creating a frenzy (Dayton Daily News).
Gov. Mike DeWine and Secretary of State Frank LaRose declared Monday evening that they believed the virus would put voters ages 65+ as well as those with medical problems in danger.
“While the polls will be closed tomorrow, Secretary of State Frank LaRose will seek a remedy through the courts to extend voting options so that every voter who wants to vote will be granted that opportunity,” DeWine said in a written statement (Dayton Daily News).
DeWine and LaRose said they suggested delaying the presidential election dependent on another proposal from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that no more than 50 individuals assemble at once.
So what is being done to battle this on going fight on how the people will vote in this years election?
Well, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) plan to extend the bill by both in-person early voting and no-excuse absentee vote by mail. This bill would also require states to set up alternative plans in case this coronavirus shapes our lives more than we ever imagined.
A vote-via mail framework has taken on another desperation. Now more than ever have the people needed the United States Postal Service to keep our democracy grounded and established.
As COVID-19 cases continue to rise, we must do what we can to lessen the spread but continue to work and develop our democracy. In order to do that, working from home and voting by mail will maintain that order we’ve come to know.
Examining both maps above, you can see where the transition is being made to vote via mail. Thankfully Washington and Oregon are universal vote-by-mail as they are also at high risk for multiple cases of COVID-19.
But as for Louisiana, they aren’t transitioning to vote via mail although their number of virus cases are increasingly high and continues to develop.
This will risk the ability for those in Louisiana to vote in the primary. Nevertheless that isn’t until June but, we don’t know how long this “shut down” will occur.
As long as there is no vaccine there are no answers on how long this will last. That is why it is important to take into consideration long term options. It is necessary to come together towards a common goal, such as allowing all states to vote via mail to eliminate the risk of contamination.
We cannot let this virus suppress a democracy which has succeeded for over 200 years. We cannot let what happen in 1918 rule us again.
November 5, the political race was down—from 50.4% in the past midterm of 1914 to 39.9% in 1918. Why is that?
Over a hundred years ago, a new influenza virus appeared and swept across the globe, killing between 50 and 100 million people. This was known as the “Mother of All Pandemics.”
Is the coronavirus the new 1918 pandemic? And will it affect the voting turn out of the 2020 presidential election?
The death toll continues to rise, cancellations of events, and closures of facilities such as the shut down of hundreds of college campus’s is an effort to prevent the spread of the disease.
But, we must not let it take charge of our voting rights.
Our attention must move towards whether the voting process itself might be threatened in the mist of this recent pandemic.
Jasmine's Blog 
Re-reading blogs today. This topic is perhaps even more topical now then when you wrote it. There’s been a lot going on with this issue. I believe Buffalo County sent out mail-in ballot requests to everyone on the roles.
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