Allegheny Co. Executive Rich Fitzgerald Calls For Voting By Mail For June Primary
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald is calling for the upcoming June primary to be conducted by mail-in voting.
Fitzgerald is calling for an expansion of the state's emergency declaration that would allow Allegheny County to send a ballot to every registered voter so that they can vote by mail in the June 2, 2020 primary election.
Fitzerald's call for this action comes at the recommendation of Allegheny County Health Department Director Dr. Debra Bogen.
"Holding an in-person election in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic would be, in and of itself, a disaster," said Fitzgerald in a press release.
"We are not going to have enough staff to work the election and asking elected and appointed poll workers to work flies in the face of what we've been asking everyone in this county to do since mid-March. Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy, but in-person voting would jeopardize this community and potentially disenfranchise voters who would be afraid to come to the polls."
"Voting in person could put our most vulnerable populations at risk; those who are most at risk of serious infection," said Dr. Bogen. "Even if those individuals come out to vote, there is no way to remain physically distant at our polling places. This concern includes the majority of our poll workers, as working on election day would be unsafe for them."
