So much for that theory.
An epidemiological study by top scientists shows that long lines at polling places do not lead to more cases of COVID-19.
The report, published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, showed that voters who lined up to cast ballots in Wisconsin’s primary elections on April 7, the peak of the pandemic, did not contract the virus in higher numbers.
“The CDC study of the impact on voters in Milwaukee revealed that 33% fewer deaths were reported three weeks after the elections than earlier in April,” The Washington Times reported.
“After a peak in hospitalizations during the last week in March, hospitalizations gradually declined,” said the analysis, stressing that the CDC’s guidance urging physical distancing, cleaning and disinfecting at the polls appeared to have worked.
The CDC report said a longer voting period and increased number of polling locations in November could help reduce the number of people at the polls and the risk of transmission of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus that is blamed for the deaths of more than 163,000 people in the U.S.
“The data from Milwaukee provide preliminary evidence to suggest mitigation strategies were effective, but more observations are necessary,” said Eva Leidman, who leads the CDC’s Wisconsin COVID-19 Response Field Team.
Democrats have been pushing mail-in voting, claiming that the risk of virus transmission in long voter lines is high. Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak, for instance, signed legislation this week to institute universal mail-in voting.
“This bill will help prevent Nevadans from experiencing the long lines at polling locations they faced during the primary election, which will protect their safety, safeguard their right to make their voices heard, and help reduce the spread of COVID-19,” Mr. Sisolak wrote on Twitter.
Trump wrote on Twitter last month that an election conducted by mail-in voting would lead to the “most INNACURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history.”
