March 12, 2020 3:20 a.m.
Oregon U.S. Senator Ron Wyden introduced a bill on Wednesday that he said would reduce the risks to American voters and elections posed by the coronavirus, and other outbreaks of infectious diseases or natural disasters.
The release from Wyden said under his proposal, if 25 percent of states declare a state of emergency related to COVID-19, another infectious disease or a natural disaster, the Resilient Elections During Quarantines and Natural Disasters Act of 2020 would require all states to offer an option for voters to mail in or drop-off a hand-marked, paper ballot.
Wyden said “no voter should have to choose between exercising their constitutional right and putting their health at risk”. He said that when disaster strikes, the safest route for seniors, individuals with compromised immune systems and other at-risk populations is to provide every voter with a paper ballot they can return by mail or at a drop-off site. He called his proposal, “a nonpartisan, commonsense solution to the very real threat looming this November”.
Wyden said Oregon is currently one of 34 states along with the District of Columbia to offer “no excuse” absentee voting by mail. Even if the 25 percent threshold is not met, governors have the discretion to trigger provisions of the bill within their state by declaring an emergency. The bill also requires states to offer postage prepaid self-sealing envelopes to voters. The Resilient Elections Act provides $500 million to fund emergency state vote-by mail efforts.