Editorial
Wisconsin should allow clerks to start counting the crush of absentee ballots before Election Day.
It’s getting dark as you rush to the polls after work on election day, Nov. 3. It starts to drizzle as you hunker down at the end of the line that stretches around the block. You overhear people saying two poll workers called in sick with COVID-19 symptoms, causing the backup. You wonder if you will be exposed, thus putting your own as well as your family’s health at risk.
In Milwaukee, we don’t need to imagine this. We’ve lived it. Crowded inperson voting in the Wisconsin primaries was tied to an increase in COVID19 cases. As doctors, we are concerned and want to do what we can to prevent this from happening again.
Doctors want to send a clear message that voting in person during a pandemic can be dangerous and even deadly. Crowds can spread COVID-19
while asymptomatic. Your health depends on Wisconsin extending the voter registration deadline and making the process of obtaining and sending in a vote-by-mail ballot easy and uncomplicated. No photo ID, no proof of residence, and no witness signing for voteby-mail ballots are required in other states. If Wisconsin chooses to follow suit, lives will be saved.
Just as doctors are expected to give evidence-based recommendations on how to prevent injuries and illness by wearing seatbelts and eating healthy, we have a duty to advise you on how to stay safe while exercising your right to vote. It doesn’t matter which side of the aisle you’re on, voting the way we always have is just not safe during the pandemic. It would be like going on a road trip during a blizzard.
So what do we prescribe? Vote from the safety of your own home.
Request a vote-by-mail ballot, even if you think you’ll want to vote in person. The pandemic is unpredictable. We’ve seen COVID-19 hotspots flare up across the country. Voting from home protects you; it also protects your community. By decreasing crowds at the polls, you protect those who have to vote in person and poll workers, particularly those at increased risk of adverse health effects due to underlying medical conditions.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you are not at risk, even if you are young and healthy. We are starting to learn about long-haulers who suffer for months with neurologic issues and worse. We have seen our own patients unable to go to work or require 24/7 care due to persistent shortness of breath, fatigue, or leg weakness. CT scans often show lung damage, even in asymptomatic people. Elite athletes — young, healthy football players — have been forced off the field by serious heart inflammation. We don’t yet know how long the damages will last.
Emergencies and hospitalizations are also unpredictable. Car crashes, obstetric complications, heart attacks, strokes, and extreme weather events aren’t scheduled. Requesting and returning a ballot now ensures your voice is heard.
Concerns about voter fraud should not be a hindrance. Voter fraud is vanishingly small, less than your chance of being struck by lightning. Voters need assurance that their safest option is also "I'm disgusted. I requested an absentee ballot almost three weeks ago and never got it. I have a father dying from lung disease and I have to risk my life and his just to exercise my right to vote," said Milwaukee resident Jennifer Taff (holding sign) during the April election. She had been standing in line at Washington High School for almost two hours. secure. We urge election officials to join the counties that have addressed these concerns through expanded use of secure drop boxes to decrease the load on the U.S. Postal Service, standardized procedures for signature verification, the processing of absentee ballots as soon as they arrive, and ballot tracking.
You may still need or choose to vote in-person. Stay safe with these practices: vote before election day if possible, wear a mask, maintain physical distancing, and practice hand hygiene. Wisconsin election officials should do their part by supporting these practices and designing polling places and procedures that minimize crowding and lines.
The pandemic has made voting a health issue. As physicians, our duty is to advise you on how to vote safely. We rely on elected officials to protect you and all voters by implementing no-excuse vote-by-mail ballots along with procedures that people can trust as well as safe in-person voting procedures.
Let Milwaukee and all of Wisconsin avoid potential COVID exposure. Our prescription for healthy voting is this: Vote from home; request a vote-by-mail ballot, and return it early. If you do vote in-person: vote early and follow safe practices. If voters across all 72 counties each do their part, you won’t have to choose between your health and your vote in 2020.
Caitlin Rublee in an emergency medicine physician in Milwaukee. René Settle-Robinson is a podiatric surgeon in Milwaukee.