How safe is it to vote in person in South Florida? We asked infectious disease docs
After a summer surge that filled Miami hospitals to near-capacity with COVID patients and forced widespread business closures, South Florida has eased into a relatively quiet fall, with average daily hospital admissions lower than they were in the spring.
The ebbing of the virus, along with the fact that many Florida residents will cast their ballots by mail, means that voting in person should be a relatively low-risk activity as polls open for early voting next week, comparable — or perhaps even safer than — shopping for groceries, several experts told the Miami Herald.
That safety hinges on widespread compliance with mask wearing and physical distancing at polling places, according to Miami infectious disease doctors, who also offered tips voters might not be considering: glasses or goggles for eye protection, for example.
“Eye protection is very important,” said Dr. Lilian Abbo, chief of infection control at Jackson Health System, Miami’s public hospital. “People need to understand that this virus can transmit through eye mucus, especially with close contact.”
Polling places in Miami-Dade and Broward counties won’t be requiring shades, but election supervisors have publicized the many safety measures they’re taking to keep voting safe during an unprecedented pandemic presidential election.
Those include ample bottles of hand sanitizer — Abbo, the Jackson doctor, still says to bring your own — physical distancing requirements, propped-open doors to increase air circulation and face mask mandates.
“It’s safe for voters who want to vote in person,” said Suzy Trutie, deputy supervisor at the Miami-Dade County Elections Department.
Abbo emphasized that too many people are still wearing face masks below their noses, rendering them ineffective. She said the riskiest part of in-person voting would be standing in line, especially indoors, given the way the virus spreads through the air.
To that end, one of the most important missions for election officials is keeping lines manageable and moving quickly. Trutie said physical distancing markers will be in place inside and along the exterior of polling places.
Steve Vancore, a spokesperson for the Broward County Supervisor of Elections, said that the United States Postal Service has been supervisors’ biggest ally in the fight to make sure voting is safe, with “at least half of voters” casting ballots by mail.
“That alone will reduce lines for in-person voting both at early voting and on Election Day,” said Vancore, who said election officials were not anticipating crowds or lines on Nov. 3.
State data shows 69% of ballots were cast by mail or at early voting centers in 2016. This year, polling and a historic number of mail ballot requests suggest that percentage will grow even higher.
Dr. Stacey Baker, an infectious disease physician at Baptist Health South Florida, said she believes voting in person can be done safely and plans to do so herself — but she’s bringing her own pen.
To put the risk of voting in perspective, Baker said it’s less risky than indoor dining, “and probably comparable but maybe even somewhat less risky than food shopping.”
“It should be relatively easy to maintain your distance from other people there who are going to vote,” Baker said. “It shouldn’t take as long, and you shouldn’t need to touch as many surfaces.”
Polling places in Miami-Dade and Broward counties will be frequently sanitized, election officials said.
Masks a potential flash point
Despite ample evidence on the efficacy of wearing face masks in slowing virus transmission, public health experts haven’t convinced everyone, and the politicization of mask wearing has made it a potential issue for polling places.
That’s been further complicated by an executive order from Gov. Ron DeSantis that undercut local mask mandates, halting municipalities from collecting fines from people who refuse to wear them.
In Broward, election officials are relying on the county to enforce the mandatory mask wearing at polling places. In Miami-Dade, voters who refuse to wear a mask will be prohibited from entering the polling place, but offered a ballot outside.
“If a voter refuses to wear a mask or facial covering, we have contingency plans in place where we will accommodate that voter on the exterior of that polling place,” said Trutie. “We will never deny a voter’s right to vote.”
Vancore said no such plans are in place for Broward polling places.
“We don’t believe it is good public policy to facilitate people violating the mask ordinance,” he said.
Miami Herald Staff Writer David Smiley contributed to this report.
This story was originally published October 16, 2020 at 7:00 AM with the headline "How safe is it to vote in person in South Florida? We asked infectious disease docs."
