Democrats Must Act Now to Protect the Election
There is little doubt the president will exploit this pandemic to try to maintain power.
Protecting public health and democracy.
Photographer: Jayme Gershen/Bloomberg
With little but uncertainty ahead, Congress and the states must mobilize immediately to shift the nation to a largely vote-by-mail system by November. There are two obstacles to that goal — one practical, one political. Lurking behind both is the fear that President Donald Trump will seek to disrupt the vote to maintain power, and that Republicans and right-wing media will help him succeed.
The practical problems with voting in the midst of a pandemic are evident. Poll workers are often elderly — precisely the people who are most at risk. Some poll workers in states voting in the primary March 17 simply didn’t show up. Due to years of underfunding and neglect, even after Russian interference in 2016, election infrastructure in many states is substandard.