This week, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Dr Anthony Fauci, said that there was "no reason" Americans are unable to vote in-person during the November elections. The medical expert said the method is still possible and safe as long as the government provides sufficient safety protocols and voters maintain social distancing.
Fauci on in-person voting
In an interview this week, Fauci said that if carefully implemented and following strict guidelines, there is no reason American should not be able to conduct in-person voting for this year's elections. He added that people wear masks and observe social distancing and avoid crowded areas; they should be able to make a safe in-person voting process.
According to Fox News, the doctor said citizens who had underlying medical conditions or other physical compromise or those who did not want to personally go to voting polls on the day of the election can still use in-mail voting to send in their counts.
During the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic in April, Fauci said there was no guarantee that in-person voting would be a safe method. In an interview in the same month, Fauci said he hoped it would be but was not able to be sure about it.
Fauci's comments with in-person voting come amid United States President Donald Trump's warning that in-mail voting is susceptible to being cheated. At the same time, Democrats reassure the public that the process is a secure way to collect votes.
The Republican National Committee, along with the US president, has previously filed several lawsuits in various states to fight against Democratic efforts that aim to drastically change voting laws due to the threat of the coronavirus pandemic.
Fraudulent in-mail voting?
During an interview with Fox News this week, Trump continued to criticize in-mail voting and said it was going to be the greatest fraud in the history of the United States. He continued to say that there was nothing wrong with people going out and voting despite the risk of the COVID-19.
The US president noted that during the previous World Wars, people were still able to vote outside. Trump added citizens should have voter IDs and claims Democrats compromised the voting system with in-mail voting processes.
Since the beginning of the global crisis, the United States has recorded over 5.2 million coronavirus infections, and more than 166,000 people have lost their lives to the deadly virus, as reported by Yahoo News.
On Thursday, Andrew Bates, the Rapid Response Director of presidential candidate Joe Biden's campaign, said the method was relatively safe and not prone to fraud. He continued to say that Trump was attempting to sabotage the US Postal Service that millions of Americans rely on.
Bates added that the US president's actions were threatening a critical lifeline that rural economies relied on for the delivery of crucial medicine because he attempts to deprive the American nation of its right to vote safely amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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