vox--2020-09-22--How Trump let Covid-19 win

How Trump let Covid-19 win

As America , and even his own administration , woke up to the threat of Covid-19 , President Donald Trump still didn ’ t seem to get it .
Within weeks of suggesting that people social distance in mid-March , the president went on national TV to argue that the US could reopen by Easter Sunday in April .
“ You ’ ll have packed churches all over our country , ” Trump said in March .
“ I think it ’ ll be a beautiful time.
” The US wasn ’ t able to fully and safely reopen in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to fully and safely reopen in September .
The virus rages on , affecting every aspect of American life , from the economy to education to entertainment .
More than 200,000 Americans are confirmed dead .
Many schools are closing down again after botched attempts to reopen — with outbreaks in universities and K-12 settings .
America now has one of the worst ongoing epidemics in the world , with the second most daily new Covid-19 deaths among developed nations , surpassed only by Spain .
America does not have the most Covid-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but it ’ s doing worse than most .
The US reports about seven times the Covid-19 deaths as the median developed country , ranking in the bottom 20 percent for coronavirus deaths among wealthy nations .
Tens of thousands of lives have been needlessly lost as a result : If America had the same death rate as , for example , Canada , about 120,000 more Americans would likely be alive today .
The Easter episode , experts said , exemplified the magical thinking that has animated Trump ’ s response @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the novel coronavirus reached the US .
It ’ s a problem that ’ s continued through September — with Trump and those under him flat-out denying the existence of a resurgence in Covid-19 , falsely claiming rising cases were a result of more tests .
With every day , week , and month that the Trump administration has tried to spin a positive story , it ’ s also resisted stronger action , allowing the epidemic to drag on .
A pandemic was always likely to be a challenge for the US @ @ @ @ @ @ @ size , fragmented federalist system , and libertarian streak .
The public health system was already underfunded and underprepared for a major disease outbreak before Trump .
Yet many other developed countries dealt with these kinds of problems too .
Public health systems are notoriously underfunded worldwide .
Australia , Canada , and Germany , among others , also have federalist systems of government , individualistic societies , or both — and they ’ ve all fared much better .
Instead , experts said , it ’ s Trump ’ s leadership , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the US apart .
Before Covid-19 , Trump and his administration undermined preparedness — eliminating a White House office set up by the previous administration to combat pandemics , making cuts across other key parts of the federal government , and proposing further cuts .
Once the coronavirus arrived , Trump downplayed the threat , suggesting that it would soon disappear “ like a miracle.
” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) took weeks to fix botched tests , and the administration actively abdicated control of issues to local @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ There was a failure to realize what an efficiently spreading respiratory virus for which we have no vaccine and no antiviral meant , ” Amesh Adalja , a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security , told me .
“ From the very beginning , that minimization … set a tone that reverberated from the highest levels of government to what the average person believes about the virus.
” Several developed countries — including Belgium , France , Italy , and Spain — were caught off-guard by the pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ massive early outbreaks with enormous death tolls .
But most developed countries took these crises seriously : adopting lengthy and strict lockdowns , widespread testing and contact tracing , masking mandates , and consistent public messaging about the virus .
( Though parts of Europe are now seeing second waves , seemingly because they prematurely relaxed social distancing measures . )
America did not take the steps necessary , even after an outbreak spiraled out of control in New York .
So the US suffered a wave of huge cases over the summer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leading to new and continued surges in both cases and deaths .
And while other developed countries have seen spikes in cases as fall neared , America also has seen cases start to rise once again .
“ If George W. Bush had been president , if John McCain had been president , if Mitt Romney had been president , this would have looked very different , ” Ashish Jha , dean of the Brown University School of Public Health , told me , emphasizing the failure to act after Covid-19 hit the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump .
Experts worry that things will again get worse : Colder weather is coming , forcing people back into risky indoor environments .
So are holiday celebrations , when families and friends will gather from across the country .
Another flu season looms .
And Trump , experts lamented , is still not ready to do much , if anything , about it .
The White House disputes the criticisms .
Spokesperson Sarah Matthews claimed Trump “ has led an historic , whole-of-America coronavirus response ” that followed experts ’ advice , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health care workers , and remains focused on expediting a vaccine .
The US wasn ’ t prepared for a pandemic — and Trump made it worse During the 2014 Ebola outbreak , President Barack Obama ’ s administration realized that the US wasn ’ t prepared for a pandemic .
Jeremy Konyndyk , who served in the Obama administration ’ s Ebola response , said he “ came away from that experience just completely horrified at how unready we would be for something more dangerous than Ebola , ” which has a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ easily in the US and other developed nations .
The Obama administration responded by setting up the White House National Security Council ’ s Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense , which was meant to coordinate the many agencies , from the CDC to the Department of Health and Human Services to the Pentagon , involved in contagion response .
But when John Bolton became Trump ’ s national security adviser in 2018 , he moved to disband the office .
In April 2018 , Bolton fired Tom Bossert , then the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Washington Post reported , “ had called for a comprehensive biodefense strategy against pandemics and biological attacks.
” Then in May , Bolton let go the head of pandemic response , Rear Adm. Timothy Ziemer , and dismantled his global health security team .
Bolton claimed that the cuts were needed to streamline the National Security Council , and the team was never replaced .
In the months before the coronavirus arrived , the Trump administration also cut a public health position meant to detect outbreaks in China and another program , called @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the globe , including coronaviruses .
And Trump has repeatedly called for further cuts to the CDC and National Institutes of Health , both on the front lines of the federal response to disease outbreaks ; the administration stood by the proposed cuts after the pandemic began , though Congress has largely rejected the proposals .
The Trump administration pushed for the cuts despite multiple , clear warnings that the US was not prepared for a pandemic .
A 2019 ranking of countries ’ disaster preparedness from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ US at the top of the list , but still warned that “ no country is fully prepared for epidemics or pandemics.
” A federal simulation prior to the Covid-19 pandemic also predicted problems the US eventually faced , from a collapse in coordination and communication to shortages in personal protective equipment for health care workers .
Bill Gates , who ’ s dedicated much of his Microsoft fortune to fighting infectious diseases , warned in 2017 , “ The impact of a huge epidemic , like a flu epidemic , would be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ break down .
There ’ d be a lot of panic .
Many of our systems would be overloaded.
” Gates told the Washington Post in 2018 he had raised his concerns in meetings with Trump .
But the president , it ’ s now clear , didn ’ t listen .
There are limitations to better preparedness , too .
“ If you take what assets the United States had and you use them poorly the way we did , it doesn ’ t matter what the report says , ” Adalja @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ If you don ’ t have the leadership to execute , then it makes no difference.
” On February 25 , Nancy Messonnier , director of the CDC ’ s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases , told reporters that Americans should prepare for community spread of the coronavirus , social distancing , and the possibility that “ disruption to everyday life might be severe.
” Six months later , Messonnier ’ s comments seem prescient .
But soon after the briefing , she was pushed out of the spotlight @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the job , her press appearances have been limited — reportedly because her negative outlook angered Trump .
( Messonnier didn ’ t respond to a request for comment . )
The CDC as a whole has been pushed to the sidelines with her .
The agency is supposed to play a leading role in America ’ s fight against pandemics , but it ’ s invisible in press briefings led by Trump , Vice President Mike Pence , advisers , and health officials like Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx who are not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Robert Redfield acknowledged as much : “ You may see [ the CDC ] as invisible on the nightly news , but it ’ s sure not invisible in terms of operationalizing this response.
” University of Michigan medical historian Howard Markel put it in blunter terms , telling me the US has “ benched one of the greatest fighting forces against infectious diseases ever created.
” Meanwhile , the president downplayed the virus .
The day after Messonnier ’ s warning , Trump said that “ you have 15 people [ with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero.
” This type of magical thinking appears to have driven Trump ’ s response to Covid-19 from the start , from his conviction that cases would disappear to his proclamation that the country would reopen by Easter .
This was deliberate .
As Trump later acknowledged in recorded interviews with journalist Bob Woodward , he knew that the coronavirus was “ deadly stuff , ” airborne , more dangerous than the flu , and could afflict both the young @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the threat : “ I wanted to always play it down , ” he told Woodward on March 19 .
“ I still like playing it down , because I don ’ t want to create a panic.
” Trump has long said he believes in the power of positive thinking .
“ I ’ ve been given a lot of credit for positive thinking , ” he told Axios reporter Jonathan Swan during a wide-ranging discussion about Covid-19 in July .
“ But I also think about downside , because only a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he added , “ I think you have to have a positive outlook .
Otherwise , you have nothing.
” The concern , experts said , is the signal this messaging sends .
It tells the staffers under Trump that this issue isn ’ t a priority , and things are fine as they are .
And it suggests to the public that the virus is under control , so they don ’ t have to make annoying , uncomfortable changes to their lives , from physical distancing to wearing masks .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ slow and inadequate response .
The CDC botched the initial test kits it sent out , and it took weeks to fix the errors .
The Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) also took weeks to approve other tests from private labs .
As supply problems came up with testing kits , swabs , reagents , machines , and more , the Trump administration resisted taking significant action — claiming it ’ s up to local , state , and private actors to solve the problems and that the federal government is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” South Korea , which has been widely praised for its response to coronavirus , tested more than 66,000 people within a week of the first community transmission within its borders .
By comparison , the US took roughly three weeks to complete that many tests — in a country with more than six times the population .
Asked about testing problems in March , Trump responded , “ I don ’ t take responsibility at all.
” In June , Trump claimed that “ testing is a double-edged sword , ” adding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that extent , you ’ re going to find more people — you ’ re going to find more cases .
So I said to my people , ‘ Slow the testing down , please.
’ ” The testing shortfall was a problem few thought possible in the wealthiest , most powerful nation on earth .
“ We all kind of knew if a biological event hit during this administration , it wasn ’ t going to be good , ” Saskia Popescu , an infectious disease epidemiologist , told me .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ever anticipated it could be this bad.
” Trump also consistently undermined the advice of experts , including those in his administration .
When the CDC released reopening guidelines , Trump effectively told states to ignore the guidance and reopen prematurely — to “ LIBERATE ” their economies .
When the CDC recommended masks for public use , Trump described masking as a personal choice , refused to wear one in public for months , and even suggested that people wear masks to spite him .
( He ’ s changed his tone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ researchers work diligently to find effective treatments for Covid-19 , Trump has promoted unproven and even dangerous approaches , at one point advocating for injecting bleach .
Trump ’ s allies have even held up CDC studies that could contradict the president ’ s overly optimistic outlook .
The most aggressive steps Trump took to halt the virus — travel restrictions on China and Europe imposed in February and March , respectively — were likely too limited and too late .
And to the extent these measures bought time , it wasn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is the only entity that can solve many of the problems the country is facing .
If testing supply shortfalls in Maine are slowing down testing in Arizona or Florida , the federal government has the resources and the legal jurisdiction to quickly act .
Local or state offices looking for advice on how to react to a national crisis will typically turn to the federal government for guidance .
But the inaction , contradictions , and counterproductive messaging created a vacuum in federal leadership .
In the months after Trump ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to zero , confirmed cases in the US grew to more than 160,000 .
As of September 22 , they stand at more than 6.8 million .
Months into the pandemic , Trump has continued to flail After the initial wave of coronavirus cases began to subside in April , the White House stopped its daily press briefings on the topic .
By June , Trump ’ s tweets and public appearances focused on Black Lives Matter protests and the 2020 election — part of what Politico reporter Dan Diamond described , based @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an “ apparent eagerness to change the subject.
” Then another wave of coronavirus infections hit beginning in June , peaking with more than 70,000 daily new cases , a new high , and more than 1,000 daily deaths .
America ’ s response to the initial rise of infections was slow and inadequate .
But other developed countries also struggled with the sudden arrival of a disease brand new to humans .
The second surge , experts said , was when the scope of Trump ’ s failure became more apparent .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ failing to set up national infrastructure for testing and tracing , and downplaying masks , Trump put many states under enormous pressure to reopen before the virus was under control nationwide .
Many quickly did — and over time suffered the consequences .
Rather than create a new strategy , Trump and his administration returned to magical thinking .
Pence , head of the White House ’ s coronavirus task force , wrote an op-ed titled “ There Isn ’ t a Coronavirus ‘ Second Wave ’ ” in mid-June , as cases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some of Trump ’ s experts seemed to believe this ; Birx , once a widely respected infectious disease expert , reportedly told the president and White House staff that the US was likely following the path of Italy : Cases hit a huge high but would steadily decline .
Trump trotted out optimistic , but misleading , claims and statistics .
He told Axios reporter Jonathan Swan in July that the US was doing well because it had few deaths relative to the number of cases .
When Swan , clearly baffled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a proportion of population — a standard metric for an epidemic ’ s deadliness — Trump said , “ You can ’ t do that.
” He gave no further explanation .
Seemingly believing its coronavirus mission accomplished , the Trump administration , the New York Times reported , moved to relinquish responsibility for the pandemic and leave the response to the states — in what the Times called “ perhaps one of the greatest failures of presidential leadership in generations.
” “ The biggest problem in the US response is there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Konyndyk , now a senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development , told me .
“ There is a New York response .
There ’ s a Florida response .
There ’ s a Montana response .
There ’ s a California response .
There ’ s a Michigan response .
There ’ s a Georgia response .
But there is not a US response.
” When the coronavirus first hit the US , the country struggled with testing enough people , contact tracing , getting the public to follow recommendations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ delivering enough equipment for health care workers , and hospital capacity .
In the second wave , these problems have by and large repeated themselves .
Consider testing : It has significantly improved , but some parts of the country have reported weeks-long delays in getting test results , and the percentage of tests coming back positive has risen above the recommended 5 percent in most states — a sign of insufficient testing .
The system once again appeared to collapse under the weight of too much demand , while the federal government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chains .
Months after Congress approved billions of dollars in spending to deal with testing problems , the Trump administration has not spent much of it .
Some of Trump ’ s people seemed to listen to his calls to slow down testing : On August 24 , the CDC updated its guidelines to suggest people exposed to others with Covid-19 don ’ t necessarily have to get tested — a move for effectively less testing that experts described as “ dangerous ” and “ irresponsible.
” Only after weeks of criticism did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ September 18 , once again call for testing people without symptoms .
Mask-wearing also remains polarized .
While surveys show that the vast majority of Americans have worn masks in the past week , there ’ s a strong partisan divide .
According to Gallup ’ s surveys , 99 percent of Democrats say they ’ ve gone out with a mask in the previous week , compared to 80 percent of Republicans .
Leveraging surveys on mask use , the New York Times estimated that the percentage of people using masks in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 20 , 10 , or the single digits — even in some communities that have been hit hard .
Anti-mask protests have popped up around the country .
Testing and mask-wearing are two of the strongest weapons against Covid-19 .
Testing , paired with contact tracing , lets officials track the scale of an outbreak , isolate those who are sick , quarantine their contacts , and deploy community-wide efforts as necessary to contain the disease — as successfully demonstrated in Germany , New Zealand , and South Korea , among others .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ supporting widespread and even mandated mask use , with experts citing it as crucial to the success of nations like Japan and Slovakia in containing the virus .
It ’ s not that other developed nations did everything perfectly .
New Zealand has contained Covid-19 without widespread masking , and Japan has done so without widespread testing .
But both took at least one aggressive action the US hasn ’ t .
“ While there ’ s variation across many countries , the thing that distinguishes the countries doing well is they took @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an epidemiologist at the University of California San Francisco , told me .
One explanation for the shortfalls in the US response is Trump ’ s obsession with getting America , particularly the economy , back to normal in the short term , seemingly before Election Day this November .
It ’ s why he ’ s called on governors to “ LIBERATE ” states .
It ’ s why he ’ s repeatedly said that “ the Cure can ’ t be worse than the problem itself.
” It ’ s one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even very minor lifestyle changes such as wearing a mask .
The reality is that life will only get closer to normal once the virus is suppressed .
That ’ s what ’ s working for other countries that are more earnestly reopening , from Taiwan to Germany .
It ’ s what a preliminary study on the 1918 flu found , as US cities that emerged economically stronger back then took more aggressive action that hindered economies in the short term but better kept infections and deaths down overall .
“ Dead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jade Pagkas-Bather , an infectious diseases expert and doctor at the University of Chicago , told me .
“ They can ’ t stimulate economies.
” The window to avert further catastrophe may be closing As cases and deaths climbed over the summer , and as the November election neared , Trump at times appeared to spring back into action — bringing back coronavirus press conferences and briefly changing his tone on masks ( before going back to mocking them ) .
But Trump still seems resistant to focusing too much on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ change the subject to former Vice President Joe Biden ’ s supposed plans to destroy the “ Suburban Lifestyle Dream.
” He ’ s continued to downplay the crisis , saying on July 28 , as daily Covid-19 deaths once again topped 1,000 , “ It is what it is.
” His Republican convention continued to diminish the risks of Covid-19 and exaggerate Trump ’ s successes in fighting the virus .
At a campaign rally in Ohio on September 21 , Trump claimed the virus “ affects virtually nobody.
” So while @ @ @ @ @ @ @ political incentives ( it remains Americans ’ top priority ) , he and his administration continue to flounder .
And White House officials stand by their response so far , continually pushing blame to local and state governments .
“ There ’ s no national plan to combat the worst pandemic that we ’ ve seen in a century , ” Jen Kates , director of global health and HIV policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation , told me .
The summer surge of Covid-19 has calmed now , although cases across the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ level than they were in the spring , likely a result of cities , counties , states , and the public taking action as the federal government didn ’ t .
Still , cases have started to pick back up again .
Experts now worry that the country could be setting itself up for another wave of Covid-19 .
Schools reopening across the country could create new vectors of transmission .
The winter will force many Americans indoors to avoid the cold , while being outdoors in the open air can hinder the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ friends will come together from across the country to celebrate the holidays , creating new possibilities for superspreading events .
And in the background , another flu season looms — which could limit health care capacity further just as Covid-19 cases spike .
“ The virus spreads when a large number of people gather indoors , ” Jha said .
“ That ’ s going to happen more in December than it did in July — and July was a pretty awful month.
” There are reasons to believe it might not get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the US have gotten sick , that could offer some element of population immunity in some places as long as people continue social distancing and masking .
After seeing two large waves of the coronavirus across the country , the public could act cautiously and slow the disease , even if local , state , and federal governments don ’ t .
Social distancing due to Covid-19 could keep the spread of the flu down too ( which seemed to happen in the Southern Hemisphere ) .
But the federal government could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the right direction .
Experts have urged the federal government to provide clear , consistent guidance and deploy stronger policies , encouraging people to take Covid-19 as a serious threat — now , not later .
“ I ’ m really concerned that the window might be closing , ” Kates said .
Without that federal action , the US could remain stuck in a cycle of ups and downs with Covid-19 , forcing the public to double down on social distancing and other measures with each new wave .
As cases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will become even more of an outlier as much of the developed world inches back to normal .
And the “ beautiful time ” Trump imagined for Easter will remain out of reach .
Help keep Vox free for all Millions turn to Vox each month to understand what ’ s happening in the news , from the coronavirus crisis to a racial reckoning to what is , quite possibly , the most consequential presidential election of our lifetimes .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources .
Even when the economy and the news advertising market recovers , your support will be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work .
If you have already contributed , thank you .
If you haven ’ t , please consider helping everyone make sense of an increasingly chaotic world : Contribute today from as little as $ 3 .

As America, and even his own administration, woke up to the threat of Covid-19, President Donald Trump still didn’t seem to get it. Within weeks of suggesting that people social distance in mid-March, the president went on national TV to argue that the US could reopen by Easter Sunday in April. “You’ll have packed churches all over our country,” Trump said in March. “I think it’ll be a beautiful time.”
The US wasn’t able to fully and safely reopen in April. It isn’t able to fully and safely reopen in September.
The virus rages on, affecting every aspect of American life, from the economy to education to entertainment. More than 200,000 Americans are confirmed dead. Many schools are closing down again after botched attempts to reopen — with outbreaks in universities and K-12 settings. America now has one of the worst ongoing epidemics in the world, with the second most daily new Covid-19 deaths among developed nations, surpassed only by Spain.
America does not have the most Covid-19 deaths per capita of any rich country, but it’s doing worse than most. The US reports about seven times the Covid-19 deaths as the median developed country, ranking in the bottom 20 percent for coronavirus deaths among wealthy nations. Tens of thousands of lives have been needlessly lost as a result: If America had the same death rate as, for example, Canada, about 120,000 more Americans would likely be alive today.
The Easter episode, experts said, exemplified the magical thinking that has animated Trump’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic before and after the novel coronavirus reached the US. It’s a problem that’s continued through September — with Trump and those under him flat-out denying the existence of a resurgence in Covid-19, falsely claiming rising cases were a result of more tests. With every day, week, and month that the Trump administration has tried to spin a positive story, it’s also resisted stronger action, allowing the epidemic to drag on.
A pandemic was always likely to be a challenge for the US, given the country’s large size, fragmented federalist system, and libertarian streak. The public health system was already underfunded and underprepared for a major disease outbreak before Trump.
Yet many other developed countries dealt with these kinds of problems too. Public health systems are notoriously underfunded worldwide. Australia, Canada, and Germany, among others, also have federalist systems of government, individualistic societies, or both — and they’ve all fared much better.
Instead, experts said, it’s Trump’s leadership, or lack thereof, that really sets the US apart. Before Covid-19, Trump and his administration undermined preparedness — eliminating a White House office set up by the previous administration to combat pandemics, making cuts across other key parts of the federal government, and proposing further cuts.
Once the coronavirus arrived, Trump downplayed the threat, suggesting that it would soon disappear “like a miracle.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) took weeks to fix botched tests, and the administration actively abdicated control of issues to local, state, and private actors.
“There was a failure to realize what an efficiently spreading respiratory virus for which we have no vaccine and no antiviral meant,” Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told me. “From the very beginning, that minimization … set a tone that reverberated from the highest levels of government to what the average person believes about the virus.”
Several developed countries — including Belgium, France, Italy, and Spain — were caught off-guard by the pandemic and were hit hard early, suffering massive early outbreaks with enormous death tolls. But most developed countries took these crises seriously: adopting lengthy and strict lockdowns, widespread testing and contact tracing, masking mandates, and consistent public messaging about the virus. (Though parts of Europe are now seeing second waves, seemingly because they prematurely relaxed social distancing measures.)
America did not take the steps necessary, even after an outbreak spiraled out of control in New York. So the US suffered a wave of huge cases over the summer that other developed nations generally avoided, leading to new and continued surges in both cases and deaths. And while other developed countries have seen spikes in cases as fall neared, America also has seen cases start to rise once again.
“If George W. Bush had been president, if John McCain had been president, if Mitt Romney had been president, this would have looked very different,” Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, told me, emphasizing the failure to act after Covid-19 hit the US hard was a phenomenon driven by Trump.
Experts worry that things will again get worse: Colder weather is coming, forcing people back into risky indoor environments. So are holiday celebrations, when families and friends will gather from across the country. Another flu season looms. And Trump, experts lamented, is still not ready to do much, if anything, about it.
The White House disputes the criticisms. Spokesperson Sarah Matthews claimed Trump “has led an historic, whole-of-America coronavirus response” that followed experts’ advice, boosted testing rates, delivered equipment to health care workers, and remains focused on expediting a vaccine.
She added, “This strong leadership will continue.”
The US wasn’t prepared for a pandemic — and Trump made it worse
During the 2014 Ebola outbreak, President Barack Obama’s administration realized that the US wasn’t prepared for a pandemic. Jeremy Konyndyk, who served in the Obama administration’s Ebola response, said he “came away from that experience just completely horrified at how unready we would be for something more dangerous than Ebola,” which has a high fatality rate but did not spread easily in the US and other developed nations.
The Obama administration responded by setting up the White House National Security Council’s Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense, which was meant to coordinate the many agencies, from the CDC to the Department of Health and Human Services to the Pentagon, involved in contagion response.
But when John Bolton became Trump’s national security adviser in 2018, he moved to disband the office. In April 2018, Bolton fired Tom Bossert, then the homeland security adviser, who, the Washington Post reported, “had called for a comprehensive biodefense strategy against pandemics and biological attacks.” Then in May, Bolton let go the head of pandemic response, Rear Adm. Timothy Ziemer, and dismantled his global health security team. Bolton claimed that the cuts were needed to streamline the National Security Council, and the team was never replaced.
In the months before the coronavirus arrived, the Trump administration also cut a public health position meant to detect outbreaks in China and another program, called Predict, that tracked emerging pathogens around the globe, including coronaviruses. And Trump has repeatedly called for further cuts to the CDC and National Institutes of Health, both on the front lines of the federal response to disease outbreaks; the administration stood by the proposed cuts after the pandemic began, though Congress has largely rejected the proposals.
The Trump administration pushed for the cuts despite multiple, clear warnings that the US was not prepared for a pandemic. A 2019 ranking of countries’ disaster preparedness from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and Nuclear Threat Initiative had the US at the top of the list, but still warned that “no country is fully prepared for epidemics or pandemics.”
A federal simulation prior to the Covid-19 pandemic also predicted problems the US eventually faced, from a collapse in coordination and communication to shortages in personal protective equipment for health care workers.
Bill Gates, who’s dedicated much of his Microsoft fortune to fighting infectious diseases, warned in 2017, “The impact of a huge epidemic, like a flu epidemic, would be phenomenal because all the supply chains would break down. There’d be a lot of panic. Many of our systems would be overloaded.”
Gates told the Washington Post in 2018 he had raised his concerns in meetings with Trump. But the president, it’s now clear, didn’t listen.
There are limitations to better preparedness, too. “If you take what assets the United States had and you use them poorly the way we did, it doesn’t matter what the report says,” Adalja said, referring to the 2019 ranking. “If you don’t have the leadership to execute, then it makes no difference.”
As Covid-19 spread, Trump downplayed the threat
On February 25, Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters that Americans should prepare for community spread of the coronavirus, social distancing, and the possibility that “disruption to everyday life might be severe.”
Six months later, Messonnier’s comments seem prescient. But soon after the briefing, she was pushed out of the spotlight — though she’s still on the job, her press appearances have been limited — reportedly because her negative outlook angered Trump. (Messonnier didn’t respond to a request for comment.)
The CDC as a whole has been pushed to the sidelines with her. The agency is supposed to play a leading role in America’s fight against pandemics, but it’s invisible in press briefings led by Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, advisers, and health officials like Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx who are not part of the organization. CDC Director Robert Redfield acknowledged as much: “You may see [the CDC] as invisible on the nightly news, but it’s sure not invisible in terms of operationalizing this response.”
University of Michigan medical historian Howard Markel put it in blunter terms, telling me the US has “benched one of the greatest fighting forces against infectious diseases ever created.”
Meanwhile, the president downplayed the virus. The day after Messonnier’s warning, Trump said that “you have 15 people [with the coronavirus], and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero.” This type of magical thinking appears to have driven Trump’s response to Covid-19 from the start, from his conviction that cases would disappear to his proclamation that the country would reopen by Easter.
This was deliberate. As Trump later acknowledged in recorded interviews with journalist Bob Woodward, he knew that the coronavirus was “deadly stuff,” airborne, more dangerous than the flu, and could afflict both the young and old. Yet he deliberately downplayed the threat: “I wanted to always play it down,” he told Woodward on March 19. “I still like playing it down, because I don’t want to create a panic.”
Trump has long said he believes in the power of positive thinking. “I’ve been given a lot of credit for positive thinking,” he told Axios reporter Jonathan Swan during a wide-ranging discussion about Covid-19 in July. “But I also think about downside, because only a fool doesn’t.” Pressed further, he added, “I think you have to have a positive outlook. Otherwise, you have nothing.”
.@jonathanvswan: “Oh, you’re doing death as a proportion of cases. I’m talking about death as a proportion of population. That’s where the U.S. is really bad. Much worse than South Korea, Germany, etc.”@realdonaldtrump: “You can’t do that.”
Swan: “Why can’t I do that?” pic.twitter.com/MStySfkV39 — Axios (@axios) August 4, 2020
The concern, experts said, is the signal this messaging sends. It tells the staffers under Trump that this issue isn’t a priority, and things are fine as they are. And it suggests to the public that the virus is under control, so they don’t have to make annoying, uncomfortable changes to their lives, from physical distancing to wearing masks.
It creates the perfect conditions for a slow and inadequate response.
The CDC botched the initial test kits it sent out, and it took weeks to fix the errors. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also took weeks to approve other tests from private labs. As supply problems came up with testing kits, swabs, reagents, machines, and more, the Trump administration resisted taking significant action — claiming it’s up to local, state, and private actors to solve the problems and that the federal government is merely a “supplier of last resort.”
South Korea, which has been widely praised for its response to coronavirus, tested more than 66,000 people within a week of the first community transmission within its borders. By comparison, the US took roughly three weeks to complete that many tests — in a country with more than six times the population.
Asked about testing problems in March, Trump responded, “I don’t take responsibility at all.” In June, Trump claimed that “testing is a double-edged sword,” adding that “when you do testing to that extent, you’re going to find more people — you’re going to find more cases. So I said to my people, ‘Slow the testing down, please.’”
The testing shortfall was a problem few thought possible in the wealthiest, most powerful nation on earth. “We all kind of knew if a biological event hit during this administration, it wasn’t going to be good,” Saskia Popescu, an infectious disease epidemiologist, told me. “But I don’t think anyone ever anticipated it could be this bad.”
Trump also consistently undermined the advice of experts, including those in his administration. When the CDC released reopening guidelines, Trump effectively told states to ignore the guidance and reopen prematurely — to “LIBERATE” their economies. When the CDC recommended masks for public use, Trump described masking as a personal choice, refused to wear one in public for months, and even suggested that people wear masks to spite him. While federal agencies and researchers work diligently to find effective treatments for Covid-19, Trump has promoted unproven and even dangerous approaches, at one point advocating for injecting bleach. Trump’s allies have even held up CDC studies that could contradict the president’s overly optimistic outlook.
The most aggressive steps Trump took to halt the virus — travel restrictions on China and Europe imposed in February and March, respectively — were likely too limited and too late. And to the extent these measures bought time, it wasn’t properly used.
The federal government is the only entity that can solve many of the problems the country is facing. If testing supply shortfalls in Maine are slowing down testing in Arizona or Florida, the federal government has the resources and the legal jurisdiction to quickly act. Local or state offices looking for advice on how to react to a national crisis will typically turn to the federal government for guidance.
But the inaction, contradictions, and counterproductive messaging created a vacuum in federal leadership.
In the months after Trump’s prediction that coronavirus cases would go down to zero, confirmed cases in the US grew to more than 160,000. As of September 22, they stand at more than 6.8 million.
Months into the pandemic, Trump has continued to flail
After the initial wave of coronavirus cases began to subside in April, the White House stopped its daily press briefings on the topic. By June, Trump’s tweets and public appearances focused on Black Lives Matter protests and the 2020 election — part of what Politico reporter Dan Diamond described, based on discussions with administration officials, as an “apparent eagerness to change the subject.”
Then another wave of coronavirus infections hit beginning in June, peaking with more than 70,000 daily new cases, a new high, and more than 1,000 daily deaths.
America’s response to the initial rise of infections was slow and inadequate. But other developed countries also struggled with the sudden arrival of a disease brand new to humans. The second surge, experts said, was when the scope of Trump’s failure became more apparent.
By pushing states to open prematurely, failing to set up national infrastructure for testing and tracing, and downplaying masks, Trump put many states under enormous pressure to reopen before the virus was under control nationwide. Many quickly did — and over time suffered the consequences.
Rather than create a new strategy, Trump and his administration returned to magical thinking. Pence, head of the White House’s coronavirus task force, wrote an op-ed titled “There Isn’t a Coronavirus ‘Second Wave’” in mid-June, as cases started to increase again. Internally, some of Trump’s experts seemed to believe this; Birx, once a widely respected infectious disease expert, reportedly told the president and White House staff that the US was likely following the path of Italy: Cases hit a huge high but would steadily decline.
Trump trotted out optimistic, but misleading, claims and statistics. He told Axios reporter Jonathan Swan in July that the US was doing well because it had few deaths relative to the number of cases. When Swan, clearly baffled, clarified he was asking about deaths as a proportion of population — a standard metric for an epidemic’s deadliness — Trump said, “You can’t do that.” He gave no further explanation.
Seemingly believing its coronavirus mission accomplished, the Trump administration, the New York Times reported, moved to relinquish responsibility for the pandemic and leave the response to the states — in what the Times called “perhaps one of the greatest failures of presidential leadership in generations.”
“The biggest problem in the US response is there is not a US response,” Konyndyk, now a senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development, told me. “There is a New York response. There’s a Florida response. There’s a Montana response. There’s a California response. There’s a Michigan response. There’s a Georgia response. But there is not a US response.”
When the coronavirus first hit the US, the country struggled with testing enough people, contact tracing, getting the public to follow recommendations such as physical distancing and masking, delivering enough equipment for health care workers, and hospital capacity. In the second wave, these problems have by and large repeated themselves.
Consider testing: It has significantly improved, but some parts of the country have reported weeks-long delays in getting test results, and the percentage of tests coming back positive has risen above the recommended 5 percent in most states — a sign of insufficient testing. The system once again appeared to collapse under the weight of too much demand, while the federal government failed to solve continuing problems with supply chains. Months after Congress approved billions of dollars in spending to deal with testing problems, the Trump administration has not spent much of it.
Some of Trump’s people seemed to listen to his calls to slow down testing: On August 24, the CDC updated its guidelines to suggest people exposed to others with Covid-19 don’t necessarily have to get tested — a move for effectively less testing that experts described as “dangerous” and “irresponsible.” Only after weeks of criticism did the CDC back down and, on September 18, once again call for testing people without symptoms.
Mask-wearing also remains polarized. While surveys show that the vast majority of Americans have worn masks in the past week, there’s a strong partisan divide. According to Gallup’s surveys, 99 percent of Democrats say they’ve gone out with a mask in the previous week, compared to 80 percent of Republicans. Leveraging surveys on mask use, the New York Times estimated that the percentage of people using masks in public can fall to as low as 20, 10, or the single digits — even in some communities that have been hit hard. Anti-mask protests have popped up around the country.
Testing and mask-wearing are two of the strongest weapons against Covid-19. Testing, paired with contact tracing, lets officials track the scale of an outbreak, isolate those who are sick, quarantine their contacts, and deploy community-wide efforts as necessary to contain the disease — as successfully demonstrated in Germany, New Zealand, and South Korea, among others. There’s also growing scientific evidence supporting widespread and even mandated mask use, with experts citing it as crucial to the success of nations like Japan and Slovakia in containing the virus.
It’s not that other developed nations did everything perfectly. New Zealand has contained Covid-19 without widespread masking, and Japan has done so without widespread testing. But both took at least one aggressive action the US hasn’t. “While there’s variation across many countries, the thing that distinguishes the countries doing well is they took something seriously,” Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, an epidemiologist at the University of California San Francisco, told me.
One explanation for the shortfalls in the US response is Trump’s obsession with getting America, particularly the economy, back to normal in the short term, seemingly before Election Day this November. It’s why he’s called on governors to “LIBERATE” states. It’s why he’s repeatedly said that “the Cure can’t be worse than the problem itself.” It’s one reason, perhaps, he resisted embracing even very minor lifestyle changes such as wearing a mask.
The reality is that life will only get closer to normal once the virus is suppressed. That’s what’s working for other countries that are more earnestly reopening, from Taiwan to Germany. It’s what a preliminary study on the 1918 flu found, as US cities that emerged economically stronger back then took more aggressive action that hindered economies in the short term but better kept infections and deaths down overall.
“Dead people don’t shop,” Jade Pagkas-Bather, an infectious diseases expert and doctor at the University of Chicago, told me. “They can’t stimulate economies.”
The window to avert further catastrophe may be closing
As cases and deaths climbed over the summer, and as the November election neared, Trump at times appeared to spring back into action — bringing back coronavirus press conferences and briefly changing his tone on masks (before going back to mocking them).
But Trump still seems resistant to focusing too much on the issue. He’s tried to change the subject to former Vice President Joe Biden’s supposed plans to destroy the “Suburban Lifestyle Dream.” He’s continued to downplay the crisis, saying on July 28, as daily Covid-19 deaths once again topped 1,000, “It is what it is.” His Republican convention continued to diminish the risks of Covid-19 and exaggerate Trump’s successes in fighting the virus. At a campaign rally in Ohio on September 21, Trump claimed the virus “affects virtually nobody.”
So while combating Covid-19 aligns with Trump’s political incentives (it remains Americans’ top priority), he and his administration continue to flounder. And White House officials stand by their response so far, continually pushing blame to local and state governments.
“There’s no national plan to combat the worst pandemic that we’ve seen in a century,” Jen Kates, director of global health and HIV policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation, told me.
The summer surge of Covid-19 has calmed now, although cases across the US flattened out at a much higher level than they were in the spring, likely a result of cities, counties, states, and the public taking action as the federal government didn’t. Still, cases have started to pick back up again.
Experts now worry that the country could be setting itself up for another wave of Covid-19. Schools reopening across the country could create new vectors of transmission. The winter will force many Americans indoors to avoid the cold, while being outdoors in the open air can hinder the spread of the disease. Families and friends will come together from across the country to celebrate the holidays, creating new possibilities for superspreading events. And in the background, another flu season looms — which could limit health care capacity further just as Covid-19 cases spike.
“The virus spreads when a large number of people gather indoors,” Jha said. “That’s going to happen more in December than it did in July — and July was a pretty awful month.”
There are reasons to believe it might not get so bad. Since so many people in the US have gotten sick, that could offer some element of population immunity in some places as long as people continue social distancing and masking. After seeing two large waves of the coronavirus across the country, the public could act cautiously and slow the disease, even if local, state, and federal governments don’t. Social distancing due to Covid-19 could keep the spread of the flu down too (which seemed to happen in the Southern Hemisphere).
But the federal government could do much more to push the nation in the right direction. Experts have urged the federal government to provide clear, consistent guidance and deploy stronger policies, encouraging people to take Covid-19 as a serious threat — now, not later.
“I’m really concerned that the window might be closing,” Kates said.
Without that federal action, the US could remain stuck in a cycle of ups and downs with Covid-19, forcing the public to double down on social distancing and other measures with each new wave. As cases and deaths continue to climb, America will become even more of an outlier as much of the developed world inches back to normal. And the “beautiful time” Trump imagined for Easter will remain out of reach.


vox--2020-09-22--How to vote by mail in 2020

How to vote by mail in 2020

Vox answers your biggest questions about the 2020 US presidential election , which could be one of the most consequential of our lifetimes .
Like just about every other facet of life in America , Election Day is going to look a little bit different in 2020 .
Though voters will still go to the polls , at least in most states , a record number of people are expected to vote by mail from the comfort of their homes .
But while in a normal election you probably just need to know two dates — when to register to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election is — there are a few more to keep track of if you plan to vote by mail this November .
Vox is here to help .
First , make sure you ’ re registered — some states ’ relevant deadlines are as early as October 4 ( many have later deadlines if you are voting in person ) .
Then you should know what types of voting your state allows , and where it falls on the spectrum of making it easy ( or hard ) for voters to cast their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ few states conduct their elections solely through the mail , the vast majority of American states and territories have expanded absentee voting during the pandemic to permit any voter to cast a ballot by mail .
Some , however , still have strict requirements for who can get an absentee ballot .
Specifically , most states require that you submit an absentee ballot request ( absentee voting is functionally the same thing as mail-in voting , despite what President Donald Trump may say ) .
Then it ’ s a good idea to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to show up , and of course when you need to return it so that it ’ s counted .
For ballot requests and/or returns , remember the relevant deadline may be for receipt , not postmarking .
Treat the deadlines with extreme caution , though : The USPS warned 46 states and the District of Columbia in late July this year that the anticipated surge of absentee voting could be such that some ballots arrive too late to be counted .
What ’ s more , Trump ’ s unfounded animus against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Postal Service could make things even harder .
None of that is to dissuade you from voting by mail , but it should underscore the critical importance of requesting your ballot early and voting early .
Some more words of warning : The rules aren ’ t totally settled in some places .
And there are a lot of active lawsuits over state election laws right now , some of which are trying to make it easier to vote absentee and others that are trying to cut back on it .
It ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with your local elections office about deadlines and rules that may vary by county ; rules for military and overseas voters vary , too .
Finally , be sure to fill out and seal your ballot carefully , as it may be rejected if it ’ s missing a requirement like a matching signature .
In several states , certification by a witness or notary may be required .
If you ’ re not sure how you plan to vote — in many states , early in-person voting is also an option , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a secure ballot dropbox !
— then Vox ’ s Jen Kirby has the comprehensive voting guide for you .
( Note : In some states , you may have to vote provisionally if you request a mail ballot but decide to vote in person .
You may also be able to track your ballot to ensure it gets to election officials . )
But if you are planning to vote by mail , Vox has collected the dates you need to know — deadlines to register to vote ( if you want @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to apply for an absentee ballot , dates when ballots are expected to go out to voters , and deadlines to return your ballot — right here .
Read on for those dates in all 50 states and Washington , DC , organized by how easy or difficult it is to vote by mail in each .
Or go ahead and do a page “ find ” search to see your state deadlines quickly .
Again , it ’ s best to get started well before the deadlines to account for mailing windows @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vary and are subject to change .
Check with a local election official if you have any questions about how to vote .
If you live in Colorado , Hawaii , Oregon , Utah , or Washington , you ’ re in luck .
All five states already use universal vote-by-mail systems , so , pandemic notwithstanding , not much has changed .
If you ’ re registered to vote , a ballot should show up in your mailbox — you just need to get it back in the mail , or into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s received by your state ’ s deadline — or well before it .
That ’ s not to say you couldn ’ t go vote in-person on Election Day if you wanted to — voting centers or county elections offices in all five states allow you to cast a vote day-of if you so choose — but voting by mail is more readily accessible .
Here are the deadlines you need to know : • Register to vote by : Oct. 26 if voting by mail • Ballots expected to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 12 • Return your ballot by : 7 pm on Nov. 3 • Ballots expected to be mailed by : Oct. 16 • Return your ballot by : 6 pm on Nov. 3 • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Oct. 14 • Return your ballot by : 8 pm on Nov. 3 • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Oct. 13 • Return your ballot by : Postmarked by Nov. 2 ; received between Nov. 10 and Nov. 17 by canvass date ; Nov. 3 in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be mailed out : Oct. 16 • Return your ballot by : Postmarked by Nov. 3 If you live in California , Nevada , New Jersey , Vermont , or the District of Columbia , voting absentee should be straightforward .
On account of the coronavirus pandemic , all four states and DC plan to automatically send absentee ballots to registered voters .
In Nevada and New Jersey , things have been complicated by pending Trump campaign lawsuits that seek to block the states from sending an absentee ballot to every registered voter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ points out , there are plenty of reasons to doubt that effort will succeed , but it ’ s worth keeping an eye on as Election Day draws closer .
In any case , if you live in one of these states and you ’ re registered to vote , you should have an absentee ballot coming your way ahead of the November election .
Here ’ s when you can expect them , and when they need to be returned by to be counted : • Ballots expected to start to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your ballot by : Postmarked by Nov. 3 ; received by Nov. 20 • Register to vote by : Oct. 13 , or Oct. 26 if you ’ re registering in person • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : First week of October • Return your ballot by : Postmarked by Nov. 3 ; received by Nov. 10 • Register to vote by : Oct. 6 , or Oct. 29 if registering online • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Late September or early October • Return @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 3 ; received by Nov. 10 • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Sept. 19 • Return your ballot by : Postmarked by Nov. 3 ; received by 8 pm on Nov. 5 • Register to vote by : Day-of registration available • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Sept. 18 • Return your ballot by : Received by 7 pm on Nov. 3 or returned to the town clerk ’ s office by close of business on Nov. 2 If you live in one of about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ step to deal with before you can vote from home .
Though almost every state has expanded absentee ballot access in the face of the coronavirus pandemic ( we ’ ll get to the ones that haven ’ t — like Texas and Mississippi — in a minute ) , most still require voters to request an absentee ballot .
That means there are at least two dates to know : when you need to submit your request by , and when your ballot needs to be returned by .
In some cases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will be sent an absentee ballot application to fill out if they wish .
In other states , you might need to seek out an application on the state ’ s election website ( frequently found on the secretary of state ’ s site ) .
Montana is somewhat of a strange case : In addition to having no-excuse absentee voting , counties have the option of switching to something more similar to universal mail-in voting in the pandemic .
Most have done so , though all will have in-person polling places open @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the following states always allow for no-excuse absentee voting , others in this category have only recently adopted that policy in response to Covid-19 .
Yet others , such as Alabama and Kentucky , still technically require an excuse — but coronavirus concerns are enough .
One last thing : Several states , like Wyoming and Minnesota , don ’ t have a ballot request deadline to speak of , but that doesn ’ t mean you don ’ t need to do it early .
Just because you can request a ballot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mean it ’ ll show up in time for you to vote it .
• Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Sept. 19 • Return your ballot by : Postmarked by Nov. 2 ; received by noon on Nov. 3 • Ballots must be notarized or signed by two witnesses .
• Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Oct. 9 ( earlier for remote , military , and overseas voters ) • Return your ballot by : Postmarked by Nov. 3 ; received by Nov. 13 • @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
• Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Oct. 7 • Return your ballot by : 7 pm on Nov. 3 • Request your ballot by : Oct. 27 by mail or online ; Nov. 2 if submitting application in person • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Sept. 18 • Return your ballot by : 7:30 pm on Nov. 3 • Register to vote by : Oct. 27 ( postmarked-by date if registering by mail ) • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : 8 pm on Nov. 3 • Request your ballot by : Oct. 30 by mail ; Nov. 2 by noon if submitting application in person • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Sept. 19 • Return your ballot by : 8 pm on Nov. 3 • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Sept. 24 • Return your ballot by : 7 pm on Nov. 3 • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Sept. 18 • Return your ballot by : Postmarked by Nov. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This could still change — the state of Georgia is appealing a verdict on ballot deadlines ) • Request your ballot by : Oct. 23 by mail ; Oct. 30 if submitting application in person • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Sept. 18 • Return your ballot by : 8 pm on Nov. 3 • Request your ballot by : Oct. 29 by mail ; Nov. 2 if submitting application in person • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Sept. 24 • Return your ballot by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Nov. 17 • Request your ballot by : 5 pm on Oct. 24 • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Oct. 5 • Return your ballot by : Postmarked by Nov. 2 ; received by Nov. 9 ; in person by Nov. 3 • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Oct. 14 • Return your ballot by : Postmarked by Nov. 3 ; received by Nov. 6 • Register to vote by : 4 pm on Oct. 5 • Ballots expected to start to be mailed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ballot by : Postmarked by Nov. 3 ; received by Nov. 6 • Register to vote by : Oct. 19 if registering by mail • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Oct. 4 • Return your ballot by : 8 pm on Nov. 3 • Request your ballot by : Request must be received by Oct. 20 • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Sept. 24 • Return your ballot by : Postmarked by Nov. 3 ; received by 10 am on Nov. 13 • Ballots expected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Late September or early October • Return your ballot by : Postmarked by Nov. 3 and received by Nov. 6 • Register to vote by Oct. 19 online or by mail ; in person through Election Day • Request your ballot by : Oct. 30 by mail ; Nov. 3 by 4 pm local time if submitting application in person • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Sept. 19 • Return your ballot by : 8 pm on Nov. 3 at the clerk ’ s office ; or postmarked by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Sept. 18 • Return your ballot by : Postmarked by Nov. 3 ; received by Nov. 10 • Request your ballot by : Oct. 21 by mail ; Nov. 2 if submitting application in person • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Sept. 22 • Return your ballot by : 7 pm on Nov. 3 • If you ’ re not in a category at risk for Covid-19 , absentee ballots must be notarized .
• Request your ballot by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ needed in your county ) • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Oct. 9 • Return your ballot by : Received by 8 pm local time on Nov. 3 • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Sept. 28 • Return your ballot by : 8 pm on Nov. 3 • Register to vote by : Oct. 21 to Oct. 28 ( varies by county ) ; registration for voting absentee requires a witness • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Oct. 4 • Return @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nov. 3 • Request your ballot by : 5 pm on Oct. 20 • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Oct. 12 • Return your ballot by : 7 pm on Nov. 3 • Request your ballot by : Oct. 27 by mail ; Nov. 2 if submitting application in person • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Sept. 18 • Return your ballot by : Postmarked by Nov. 3 ; received by Nov. 10 or by Nov. 4 without a postmark • Ballots expected to start @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the earliest in the country • Return your ballot by : Postmarked by Nov. 3 ; received by Nov. 12 • Ballots must be signed by a witness .
• Register to vote by : Voter registration not required • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Sept. 24 • Return your ballot by : Postmarked by Nov. 2 ; received by Nov. 9 ( before canvass ) ; in person by Nov. 3 • Request your ballot by : Oct. 31 by noon • Ballots expected to start to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Return your ballot by : Postmarked by Nov. 2 ; received by Nov. 13 ; in person by Nov. 3 • Request your ballot by : 5 pm on Oct. 27 • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Sept. 19 • Return your ballot by : 7 pm on Nov. 3 • Request your ballot by : 5 pm on Oct. 27 • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Sept. 14 • Return your ballot by : Postmarked by 8 pm on Nov. 3 ; received by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : Oct. 13 by 4 pm • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Sept. 19 • Return your ballot by : 8 pm on Nov. 3 • Register to vote by : Oct. 5 , or Oct. 4 online • Request your ballot by : Oct. 24 , or Oct. 30 in person • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Oct. 4 • Return your ballot by : 7 pm on Nov. 3 • Request your ballot by : 5 pm on Nov. 2 • Ballots expected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sept. 18 • Return your ballot by : 7 pm on Nov. 3 • Request your ballot by : Oct. 23 ; in person by Oct. 31 • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Sept. 19 • Return your ballot by : Postmarked by Nov. 3 ; received by noon on Nov. 6 • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Sept. 18 • Return your ballot by : Postmarked by Nov. 3 ; received by Nov. 9 ( also accepted if received by Nov. 4 without a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2 • Register to vote by : Oct. 14 if registering online or by mail , or Oct. 30 in person • Request your ballot by : 5 pm on Oct. 29 • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Sept. 17 • Return your ballot by : Postmarked by Nov. 3 ; received by Nov. 9 • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Sept. 18 • Return your ballot by : 7 pm on Nov. 3 With fewer than 60 days until the general election , there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have done relatively little to accommodate for the reality of a largely uncontrolled pandemic .
In Indiana , Louisiana , Mississippi , Tennessee , and Texas , you still need an excuse to request an absentee ballot — and generalized coronavirus concerns don ’ t count .
In some cases , that could change .
But for now , here ’ s what you need to know to vote by mail in these five states : • Eligible excuses to request an absentee ballot can be found here • Ballots expected to start @ @ @ @ @ @ @ • Return your ballot by : noon on Nov. 3 • Register to vote by : Oct. 4 if registering by mail or in person ; Oct. 14 if registering online • Eligible excuses : Covid-19 specific excuses can be found here ; general excuses can be found here • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Sept. 19 • Return your ballot by : 4:30 pm on Nov. 2 • Ballots must be signed by a witness .
• Eligible excuses to request an absentee ballot can be found here @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expand the list ) • Request your ballot by : No date specified — to be safe , the earlier the better • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Sept. 21 • Return your ballot by : Postmarked by Nov. 3 ; received by Nov. 10 ; in person by Oct. 31 • Eligible excuses to request an absentee ballot can be found here • Ballots expected to start to be mailed out : Sept. 19 • Eligible excuses to request an absentee ballot can be found here • Ballots @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : Sept. 19 • Return your ballot by : Postmarked by Nov. 3 ; received by 5 pm on Nov. 4 Correction , September 8 : This article has been updated to reflect Maine ’ s new voter registration deadline , per the governor ’ s August executive order .
Help keep Vox free for all Millions turn to Vox each month to understand what ’ s happening in the news , from the coronavirus crisis to a racial reckoning to what is , quite possibly , the most consequential presidential election of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
But our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Even when the economy and the news advertising market recovers , your support will be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work , and helping everyone make sense of an increasingly chaotic world .
Contribute today from as little as $ 3 .

Editor’s note, October 28: The USPS strongly recommends sending back your ballot by mail at least one week before Election Day. If you haven’t mailed yours yet, see our guide to other options for returning your ballot. The article below is no longer being updated.
Like just about every other facet of life in America, Election Day is going to look a little bit different in 2020. Though voters will still go to the polls, at least in most states, a record number of people are expected to vote by mail from the comfort of their homes.
But while in a normal election you probably just need to know two dates — when to register to vote by, and what day the election is — there are a few more to keep track of if you plan to vote by mail this November.
Vox is here to help.
First, make sure you’re registered — some states’ relevant deadlines are as early as October 4 (many have later deadlines if you are voting in person). Then you should know what types of voting your state allows, and where it falls on the spectrum of making it easy (or hard) for voters to cast their ballots by mail.
Though only a few states conduct their elections solely through the mail, the vast majority of American states and territories have expanded absentee voting during the pandemic to permit any voter to cast a ballot by mail. Some, however, still have strict requirements for who can get an absentee ballot.
Specifically, most states require that you submit an absentee ballot request (absentee voting is functionally the same thing as mail-in voting, despite what President Donald Trump may say). Then it’s a good idea to know when you can expect your ballot to show up, and of course when you need to return it so that it’s counted. For ballot requests and/or returns, remember the relevant deadline may be for receipt, not postmarking.
Treat the deadlines with extreme caution, though: The USPS warned 46 states and the District of Columbia in late July this year that the anticipated surge of absentee voting could be such that some ballots arrive too late to be counted. What’s more, Trump’s unfounded animus against mail-in voting and changes at the US Postal Service could make things even harder. None of that is to dissuade you from voting by mail, but it should underscore the critical importance of requesting your ballot early and voting early.
Some more words of warning: The rules aren’t totally settled in some places. And there are a lot of active lawsuits over state election laws right now, some of which are trying to make it easier to vote absentee and others that are trying to cut back on it. It’s always a good idea to check with your local elections office about deadlines and rules that may vary by county; rules for military and overseas voters vary, too.
Finally, be sure to fill out and seal your ballot carefully, as it may be rejected if it’s missing a requirement like a matching signature. In several states, certification by a witness or notary may be required.
If you’re not sure how you plan to vote — in many states, early in-person voting is also an option, as is depositing your absentee ballot in a secure ballot dropbox! — then Vox’s Jen Kirby has the comprehensive voting guide for you. (Note: In some states, you may have to vote provisionally if you request a mail ballot but decide to vote in person. You may also be able to track your ballot to ensure it gets to election officials.)
But if you are planning to vote by mail, Vox has collected the dates you need to know — deadlines to register to vote (if you want to vote by mail), deadlines to apply for an absentee ballot, dates when ballots are expected to go out to voters, and deadlines to return your ballot — right here.
Read on for those dates in all 50 states and Washington, DC, organized by how easy or difficult it is to vote by mail in each. Or go ahead and do a page “find” search to see your state deadlines quickly. Again, it’s best to get started well before the deadlines to account for mailing windows, and these dates and rules may vary and are subject to change. Check with a local election official if you have any questions about how to vote.
The vote-by-mail states
If you live in Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah, or Washington, you’re in luck. All five states already use universal vote-by-mail systems, so, pandemic notwithstanding, not much has changed. If you’re registered to vote, a ballot should show up in your mailbox — you just need to get it back in the mail, or into a ballot dropbox, early enough that it’s received by your state’s deadline — or well before it.
That’s not to say you couldn’t go vote in-person on Election Day if you wanted to — voting centers or county elections offices in all five states allow you to cast a vote day-of if you so choose — but voting by mail is more readily accessible.
Here are the deadlines you need to know:
Colorado
Register to vote by: Oct. 26 if voting by mail
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Oct. 12
Return your ballot by: 7 pm on Nov. 3
Hawaii
Register to vote by: Oct. 5
Ballots expected to be mailed by: Oct. 16
Return your ballot by: 6 pm on Nov. 3
Oregon
Register to vote by: Oct. 13
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Oct. 14
Return your ballot by: 8 pm on Nov. 3
Utah
Register to vote by: Oct. 23
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Oct. 13
Return your ballot by: Postmarked by Nov. 2; received between Nov. 10 and Nov. 17 by canvass date; Nov. 3 in person
Washington
Register to vote by: Oct. 26
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Oct. 16
Return your ballot by: Postmarked by Nov. 3
The absentee-ballot-for-all states
If you live in California, Nevada, New Jersey, Vermont, or the District of Columbia, voting absentee should be straightforward. On account of the coronavirus pandemic, all four states and DC plan to automatically send absentee ballots to registered voters.
In Nevada and New Jersey, things have been complicated by pending Trump campaign lawsuits that seek to block the states from sending an absentee ballot to every registered voter. As Vox’s Ian Millhiser points out, there are plenty of reasons to doubt that effort will succeed, but it’s worth keeping an eye on as Election Day draws closer.
In any case, if you live in one of these states and you’re registered to vote, you should have an absentee ballot coming your way ahead of the November election. Here’s when you can expect them, and when they need to be returned by to be counted:
California
Register to vote by: Oct. 19
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Oct. 3
Return your ballot by: Postmarked by Nov. 3; received by Nov. 20
District of Columbia
Register to vote by: Oct. 13, or Oct. 26 if you’re registering in person
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: First week of October
Return your ballot by: Postmarked by Nov. 3; received by Nov. 10
Nevada
Register to vote by: Oct. 6, or Oct. 29 if registering online
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Late September or early October
Return your ballot by: Postmarked by Nov. 3; received by Nov. 10
New Jersey
Register to vote by: Oct. 13
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Sept. 19
Return your ballot by: Postmarked by Nov. 3; received by 8 pm on Nov. 5
Vermont
Register to vote by: Day-of registration available
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Sept. 18
Return your ballot by: Received by 7 pm on Nov. 3 or returned to the town clerk’s office by close of business on Nov. 2
The states with no-excuse absentee ballot applications
If you live in one of about 35 states, you have one more step to deal with before you can vote from home. Though almost every state has expanded absentee ballot access in the face of the coronavirus pandemic (we’ll get to the ones that haven’t — like Texas and Mississippi — in a minute), most still require voters to request an absentee ballot. That means there are at least two dates to know: when you need to submit your request by, and when your ballot needs to be returned by.
In some cases, like Iowa, every registered voter will be sent an absentee ballot application to fill out if they wish. In other states, you might need to seek out an application on the state’s election website (frequently found on the secretary of state’s site).
Montana is somewhat of a strange case: In addition to having no-excuse absentee voting, counties have the option of switching to something more similar to universal mail-in voting in the pandemic. Most have done so, though all will have in-person polling places open as well.
And while some of the following states always allow for no-excuse absentee voting, others in this category have only recently adopted that policy in response to Covid-19. Yet others, such as Alabama and Kentucky, still technically require an excuse — but coronavirus concerns are enough.
One last thing: Several states, like Wyoming and Minnesota, don’t have a ballot request deadline to speak of, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need to do it early. Just because you can request a ballot up to November 2 doesn’t mean it’ll show up in time for you to vote it.
Alabama
Register to vote by: Oct. 19
Request your ballot by: Oct. 29
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Sept. 19
Return your ballot by: Postmarked by Nov. 2; received by noon on Nov. 3
Ballots must be notarized or signed by two witnesses.
Alaska
Register to vote by: Oct. 4
Request your ballot by: Oct. 24
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Oct. 9 (earlier for remote, military, and overseas voters)
Return your ballot by: Postmarked by Nov. 3; received by Nov. 13
Arizona
Register to vote by: Oct. 5
Request your ballot by: Oct. 23
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Oct. 7
Return your ballot by: 7 pm on Nov. 3
Arkansas
Register to vote by: Oct. 5
Request your ballot by: Oct. 27 by mail or online; Nov. 2 if submitting application in person
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Sept. 18
Return your ballot by: 7:30 pm on Nov. 3
Connecticut
Register to vote by: Oct. 27 (postmarked-by date if registering by mail)
Request your ballot by: Nov. 2
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Oct. 3
Return your ballot by: 8 pm on Nov. 3
Delaware
Register to vote by: Oct. 10
Request your ballot by: Oct. 30 by mail; Nov. 2 by noon if submitting application in person
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Sept. 19
Return your ballot by: 8 pm on Nov. 3
Florida
Register to vote by: Oct. 5
Request your ballot by: 5 pm Oct. 24
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Sept. 24
Return your ballot by: 7 pm on Nov. 3
Georgia
Register to vote by: Oct. 5
Request your ballot by: Oct. 30
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Sept. 18
Return your ballot by: 7 pm on Nov. 3
Idaho
Register to vote by: Oct. 9
Request your ballot by: Oct. 23 by mail; Oct. 30 if submitting application in person
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Sept. 18
Return your ballot by: 8 pm on Nov. 3
Illinois
Register to vote by: Oct. 18
Request your ballot by: Oct. 29 by mail; Nov. 2 if submitting application in person
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Sept. 24
Return your ballot by: Postmarked by Nov. 3; received by Nov. 17
Iowa
Register to vote by: Oct. 24
Request your ballot by: 5 pm on Oct. 24
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Oct. 5
Return your ballot by: Postmarked by Nov. 2; received by Nov. 9; in person by Nov. 3
Kansas
Register to vote by: Oct. 13
Request your ballot by: Oct. 27
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Oct. 14
Return your ballot by: Postmarked by Nov. 3; received by Nov. 6
Kentucky
Register to vote by: 4 pm on Oct. 5
Request your ballot by: Oct. 27
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Sept. 14
Return your ballot by: Postmarked by Nov. 3; received by Nov. 6
Maine
Register to vote by: Oct. 19 if registering by mail
Request your ballot by: Oct. 29
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Oct. 4
Return your ballot by: 8 pm on Nov. 3
Maryland
Register to vote by: Oct. 13
Request your ballot by: Request must be received by Oct. 20
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Sept. 24
Return your ballot by: Postmarked by Nov. 3; received by 10 am on Nov. 13
Massachusetts
Register to vote by: Oct. 24
Request your ballot by: Oct. 20 (recommended); Oct. 28 (hard deadline)
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Late September or early October
Return your ballot by: Postmarked by Nov. 3 and received by Nov. 6
Michigan
Register to vote by Oct. 19 online or by mail; in person through Election Day
Request your ballot by: Oct. 30 by mail; Nov. 3 by 4 pm local time if submitting application in person
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Sept. 19
Return your ballot by: Nov. 3
Minnesota
Register to vote by: Oct. 13
Request your ballot by: Nov. 2
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Sept. 18
Return your ballot by: Postmarked by Nov. 3; received by Nov. 10
Missouri
Register to vote by: Oct. 7
Request your ballot by: Oct. 21 by mail; Nov. 2 if submitting application in person
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Sept. 22
Return your ballot by: 7 pm on Nov. 3
If you’re not in a category at risk for Covid-19, absentee ballots must be notarized.
Montana
Register to vote by: Oct. 26
Request your ballot by: noon on Nov. 2 (if needed in your county)
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Oct. 9
Return your ballot by: Postmarked by Nov. 3; received by Nov. 9
Nebraska
Register to vote by: Oct. 16
Request your ballot by: Oct. 23
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Sept. 28
Return your ballot by: 8 pm on Nov. 3
New Hampshire
Register to vote by: Oct. 21 to Oct. 28 (varies by county); registration for voting absentee requires a witness
Request your ballot by: Nov. 2
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Oct. 4
Return your ballot by: 5 pm on Nov. 3
New Mexico
Register to vote by: Oct. 6
Request your ballot by: 5 pm on Oct. 20
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Oct. 12
Return your ballot by: 7 pm on Nov. 3
New York
Register to vote by: Oct. 9
Request your ballot by: Oct. 27 by mail; Nov. 2 if submitting application in person
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Sept. 18
Return your ballot by: Postmarked by Nov. 3; received by Nov. 10 or by Nov. 4 without a postmark
North Carolina
Register to vote by: Oct. 9
Request your ballot by: Oct. 27
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Sept. 4, the earliest in the country
Return your ballot by: Postmarked by Nov. 3; received by Nov. 12 (This extended deadline is being contested, however.)
Ballots must be signed by a witness.
North Dakota
Register to vote by: Voter registration not required
Request your ballot by: Nov. 2
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Sept. 24
Return your ballot by: Postmarked by Nov. 2; received by Nov. 9 (before canvass); in person by Nov. 3
Ohio
Register to vote by: Oct. 5
Request your ballot by: Oct. 31 by noon
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Oct. 6
Return your ballot by: Postmarked by Nov. 2; received by Nov. 13; in person by Nov. 3
Oklahoma
Register to vote by: Oct. 9
Request your ballot by: 5 pm on Oct. 27
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Sept. 19
Return your ballot by: 7 pm on Nov. 3
Pennsylvania
Register to vote by: Oct. 19
Request your ballot by: 5 pm on Oct. 27
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Sept. 14
Return your ballot by: Postmarked by 8 pm on Nov. 3; received by Nov. 6
Rhode Island
Register to vote by: Oct. 4
Request your ballot by: Oct. 13 by 4 pm
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Sept. 19
Return your ballot by: 8 pm on Nov. 3
South Carolina
Register to vote by: Oct. 5, or Oct. 4 online
Request your ballot by: Oct. 24, or Oct. 30 in person
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Oct. 4
Return your ballot by: 7 pm on Nov. 3
After a Supreme Court ruling, a witness signature is required if you have not already submitted your ballot.
South Dakota
Register to vote by: Oct. 19
Request your ballot by: 5 pm on Nov. 2
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Sept. 18
Return your ballot by: 7 pm on Nov. 3
Virginia
Register to vote by: Oct. 15 (extended after a website malfunction)
Request your ballot by: Oct. 23; in person by Oct. 31
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Sept. 19
Return your ballot by: Postmarked by Nov. 3; received by noon on Nov. 6
West Virginia
Register to vote by: Oct. 13
Request your ballot by: Oct. 28
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Sept. 18
Return your ballot by: Postmarked by Nov. 3; received by Nov. 9 (also accepted if received by Nov. 4 without a postmark); in person by Nov. 2
Wisconsin
Register to vote by: Oct. 14 if registering online or by mail, or Oct. 30 in person
Request your ballot by: 5 pm on Oct. 29
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Sept. 17
Return your ballot by: Received by Nov. 3
A witness signature is required.
Wyoming
Register to vote by: Oct. 19
Request your ballot by: Nov. 2
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Sept. 18
Return your ballot by: 7 pm on Nov. 3
The rest (states with excuse-required absentee ballot applications)
With fewer than 60 days until the general election, there are still a handful of states that have done relatively little to accommodate for the reality of a largely uncontrolled pandemic. In Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas, you still need an excuse to request an absentee ballot — and generalized coronavirus concerns don’t count.
In some cases, that could change. But for now, here’s what you need to know to vote by mail in these five states:
Indiana
Register to vote by: Oct. 5
Eligible excuses to request an absentee ballot can be found here
Request your ballot by: Oct. 22
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Sept. 19
Return your ballot by: Postmarked by Nov. 3; received by Nov. 13
Louisiana
Register to vote by: Oct. 5 if registering by mail or in person; Oct. 13 if registering online
Eligible excuses: Covid-19 specific excuses can be found here; general excuses can be found here
Request your ballot by: Oct. 30
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Sept. 19
Return your ballot by: 4:30 pm on Nov. 2
Ballots must be signed by a witness.
Mississippi
Register to vote by: Oct. 5
Eligible excuses to request an absentee ballot can be found here (a judge’s ruling may expand the list)
Request your ballot by: No date specified — to be safe, the earlier the better
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Sept. 21
Return your ballot by: Postmarked by Nov. 3; received by Nov. 10; in person by Oct. 31
Ballots must be notarized.
Tennessee
Register to vote by: Oct. 5
Eligible excuses to request an absentee ballot can be found here
Request your ballot by: Oct. 27
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Sept. 19
Return your ballot by: Nov. 3
Texas
Register to vote by: Oct. 5
Eligible excuses to request an absentee ballot can be found here
Request your ballot by: Oct. 23
Ballots expected to start to be mailed out: Sept. 19
Return your ballot by: Postmarked by Nov. 3; received by 5 pm on Nov. 4
Correction, September 8: This article has been updated to reflect Maine’s new voter registration deadline, per the governor’s August executive order.
Correction, October 12: Updated to reflect Virginia’s deadline to register to vote was October 13. This deadline was later extended to October 15 after a website outage.