Janelle Irwin Taylor
Florida elections officials are planning to continue with Tuesday’s presidential preference primary as scheduled, according to an announcement Friday from Florida Secretary of State Laurel Lee Friday.
Lee, along with Arizona Secretary of State Kathy Hobbs, Illinois Elections Board Chair Charles Scholz and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, said the four states are working with health officials to ensure poll workers and voters can ensure a safe election day. All four states have elections Tuesday.
Some people have suggested that states with upcoming primaries or other elections should postpone them to reduce the threat of further spreading the novel coronavirus. Since the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a pandemic earlier this week, more and more Americans have been heeding cautionary advice to practice social distancing, the practice of avoiding unnecessary human contact.
The virus has also led to nationwide cancellations of sporting events, concerts and other large gatherings.
“Unlike concerts, sporting events or other mass gatherings where large groups of people travel long distances to congregate in a confined space for an extended period of time, polling locations see people from a nearby community coming into and out of the building for a short duration,” the group wrote in the joint announcement.
The officials are taking precautions, however. They’re providing guidance from voting machine manufacturers on how best to sanitize machines at polling places as well as advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on hand washing.
“Americans have participated in elections during challenging times in the past, and based on the best information we have from public health officials, we are confident that voters in our states can safely and securely cast their ballots in this election, and that otherwise healthy poll workers can and should carry out their patriotic duties on Tuesday,” the announcement read.
Florida Democrats will vote for their nominee for President. Former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders are the only viable candidates left on the ballot. President Donald Trump will also be on the ballot but isn’t expected to face a credible threat from U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh, former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld, and perennial candidate Rocky De La Fuente.
A slew of down-ballot races will also appear on ballots, depending on the district where voters reside. Some municipal elections are also being held Tuesday.
In Florida, 16 new cases of COVID-19 were announced Thursday night. As of Friday afternoon, the statewide number of reported cases was 51, including 45 Florida residents and six non-residents. Two people in the state have died.
