Pre-Election COVID Spike Creates Concerns For Polling Places In US

By: Admin

Image caption: In this Friday, October 30, 2020 file photo, people bundled against the cold stand in a slowly moving line to cast early votes at the Franklin County Board of Elections in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Andrew Welsh-Huggins)

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A surge in coronavirus cases across the country, including in key presidential battleground states, is creating mounting health and logistical concerns for voters, poll workers, and political parties ahead of Election Day.

In Iowa, where both presidential campaigns are competing feverishly, county officials said they were preparing for scores of confirmed or potentially infected people to vote curbside.

It’s an option typically used by disabled people that must be available outside every polling place.

Linn County Supervisor Stacey Walker, in Cedar Rapids, encouraged people to cast their ballot but said they should take safety precautions at polling places to protect themselves and their neighbours.

“We can’t afford to have Election Day serve as a superspreading event across the state and country,” he said.

At a news conference this past week, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate said his office had distributed 145,000 gloves, 200,000 masks, and 11,000 social-distancing markers for use by voters and poll workers.

In Wisconsin, Governor Tony Evers sought to assure voters in the critical swing state that going to the polls would not be risky, even as officials announced more than 5,000 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Friday.

“For those who are voting in person now, I believe it’s safe,” Evers said, adding that polling places have adequate supplies to protect voters.

Across the country, Republicans worked to downplay any concerns that health risks will keep some of their voters home, after Democrats heavily promoted mail-in and early in-person balloting to their voters.

Republicans are counting on a huge Election Day turnout among their supporters to offset the big leads in early voting among Democrats in states that are pivotal to the presidential race.

“If you were worried about voting at the polls on Election Day, you’ve probably already voted,” said John March, a spokesman for the Republican Party of Virginia.

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