Mississippi should act now to allow no-excuse absentee voting before November election

By Amir Badat

Just as our values have compelled us to make changes to our everyday lives, we must also change the way we vote. Although the November election seems far off, it is highly likely that we will need to maintain some form of social distancing come fall, especially if we see a resurgence of the virus in colder months. In that case, we cannot send over one million people to the polls on Election Day as we normally do.

We have already seen what an election during a pandemic looks like. Wisconsin’s April 7 primary was a voting rights and public health disaster. Voters and poll workers — many of whom lacked adequate protective gear — were forced to place themselves in harm’s way to get to the polls. Officials have already confirmed that several individuals contracted the virus as a result.

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