New CDC guidelines offer recommendations for safe voting during COVID-19

Recommendations include voting by mail, expanding early voting and personal safety measures

U.S. PIRG

WASHINGTON — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently updated its guidance for voting safely during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The agency’s recommendations center around how to reduce dangerous crowding at polling places and how to minimize the risk of infection when voting.

Notably, the guidelines call for a variety of voting options, including voting by mail, and expanding opportunities for in-person voting beyond Election Day. The guidelines also include suggestions for voters who want to ensure their personal safety if they do go to a polling place.

In response, U.S. PIRG’s Democracy for the People Campaign Director Joe Ready released the following statement:

“COVID-19 adds a level of risk to all public activities, but CDC’s recommendations, if followed, provide a roadmap for the safest elections for the most voters. Americans shouldn’t have to choose between their health and their right to participate in our elections.

“From now until Election Day, it’s the responsibility of state and local elections offices to put these recommendations into practice and protect the health of their citizens. We urge officials from both parties to encourage voting by mail to the greatest extent possible, but also ensure that enough sanitized, socially-distant polling places remain open for those who vote in person.”