Voters contend with coronavirus pandemic on key day for Biden’s presidential ambitions

MIAMI (Reuters) – Voters in three states were met by gloved poll workers and hand sanitizer as they cast ballots under the threat of the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday, as Joe Biden looked to bolster his dominant lead in the Democratic U.S. presidential race.

The former vice president hopes big victories in nominating contests in Florida, Illinois and Arizona can help him amass an unassailable advantage over rival Bernie Sanders in the race to choose a challenger to Republican President Donald Trump in the Nov. 3 election.

Biden leads Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, in opinion polls in all three states.

Ohio also had been scheduled to hold a primary on Tuesday, but Governor Mike DeWine said public health concerns made in-person voting too dangerous. A state judge blocked his first effort to postpone the vote to June 2, but the state health director ordered the polls shut as a health emergency late on Monday.

“It simply isn’t possible to hold an election tomorrow that will be considered legitimate by Ohioans,” DeWine and Frank LaRose, Ohio’s top elections official, said in a joint statement on Monday. “They mustn’t be forced to choose between their health and exercising their constitutional rights.”

In Miami on Tuesday, poll locations – some outfitted with handwashing stations, disinfecting wipes and portable bathrooms – appeared mostly quiet, as workers wore blue gloves to avoid infection.

Officials in the three states assured the public it was safe to vote despite fears about the novel coronavirus, which has dramatically altered American life, forced the campaigns to halt in-person outreach and prompted other states to postpone future contests.

The states took precautions such as extending early voting hours and moving polling places away from assisted-living facilities – even as some scrambled to find more poll workers to replace those who’d backed out.

On Monday, the White House recommended avoiding gatherings of more than 10 people and closing bars and restaurants. Schools, businesses, sporting events and cultural events have been shuttered across the country, raising questions about the wisdom of voting during a global pandemic.

Tracy Finger, 53, wore a face mask as he cast a vote for Sanders in Miami on Tuesday. He said he expected the pandemic would give the eventual Democratic nominee a political boost given the Trump administration’s response, which has drawn criticism for a lack of urgency.

“Of course it will help, especially when the president is not doing what he’s supposed to be,” said Finger, an Apple Inc employee.

‘A PERSONAL DECISION’

With public schools closed for at least two weeks, some voters brought their children along with them.

“It’s a good way to get them out of the house,” joked Stacy Chassen, 37, who had her four young children in tow when she voted for Biden at a firehouse precinct in Coconut Grove, Florida.

There were more than 4,600 cases of the respiratory virus across the United States and at least 89 deaths as of Tuesday morning.

In Florida, about 1.1 million Democratic ballots had been cast by mail or at early-voting centers through Monday, more than the 890,000 Democrats who voted early in 2016, according to state officials. In Illinois, nearly 800,000 votes had been cast by mail or through early voting – a substantial increase from 2016.

Sanders’ communications director, Mike Casca, said the campaign was not engaged in traditional efforts such as door-knocking to remind voters to go to the polls on Tuesday.

“We are making clear to voters that we believe going to the polls amid the coronavirus outbreak is a personal decision and we respect whichever choice they make,” he said in a statement.

Even though the coronavirus is keeping the candidates from holding public events, Biden on Tuesday started receiving security protection from the Secret Service, the agency confirmed.

Biden previously relied on a private security guard and local law enforcement officials. That arrangement came under scrutiny after anti-dairy industry protesters swarmed a Biden victory speech in Los Angeles earlier this month, and were forced off the stage by his wife Jill and several aides.

A Biden spokesman said the campaign does not comment on security matters.

The presidential race will enter uncertain territory after Tuesday. Biden and Sanders have dropped off the campaign trail to help prevent the spread of the virus, and the race could face an extended hiatus if more states postpone voting.

BIDEN IN CHARGE

Biden has taken command of the contest in the past two weeks, consolidating Democratic support with a string of decisive primary wins over Sanders, a democratic socialist with a sweeping agenda for restructuring the economy.

Biden’s victories in 16 of the last 21 state nominating contests have given him a lead of roughly 150 delegates over Sanders in the chase for the 1,991 delegates needed to clinch the nomination at July’s Democratic convention.

Sanders has vowed to stay in the race and attacked Biden’s Senate record on a range of issues during their first one-on-one debate on Sunday, held in Washington without a studio audience to avoid the possible spread of the virus.

But Sanders could face renewed pressure to end his bid if he loses badly on Tuesday. Many Democrats do not want a repeat of 2016, when they believe Sanders’ long, bitter primary battle with Hillary Clinton played a role in her upset loss to Trump.

Several states have postponed their presidential primaries, including Georgia, which had been scheduled to vote on March 24; Louisiana, on April 4; Maryland, on April 28; and Kentucky, on May 19.

Maryland’s special election to replace U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings, who died in October, will go forward by mail, with no in-person voting, Governor Larry Hogan said on Tuesday. Wyoming, which was scheduled to vote on April 4, has suspended in-person voting in favor of ballot drop-offs and vote-by-mail.