Vote of confidence

Amy Acton, MD, MPH, the director of the Ohio Department of Health, gets our vote as the smartest public official of the week for canceling the state’s primary election. While the governor and a judge squabbled, she decided. Arizona, Florida and Illinois foolishly let their nominating contests continue, at a time when social distancing is the one proven way to contain the spread of a deadly virus.

During the coronavirus outbreak, all states must end in-person elections, and that includes New York’s April 28 presidential primary and the June 23 regular primary, assuming the pandemic is not contained by then.

Every state must immediately start moving to 100% by mail balloting, as Oregon has successfully used for 20 years.

Registered voters get a ballot a few weeks before an election; return postage is prepaid. Oregon ballots must be received by Election Day. In New York, absentee voting ballots must be postmarked by the day before Election Day and received no later than a week after Election Day. Pick one standard.

Fortunately, the Democratic presidential nomination is all but settled for Joe Biden. The Democratic National Convention, scheduled for mid-July in Milwaukee, may have to become a virtual gathering. The same for the GOP convention set for late August in Charlotte.

The November general election must, must, must go on. Vote by mail allows that. Even during the Civil War, in 1864, there was a presidential election when Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee were battling less than 150 miles from the White House.