Commentary: The Summer Olympics have become the latest in a long line of events that have been cancelled or postponed by the coronavirus pandemic, with more certain to come.
Lacking medication to vaccinate ourselves or heal the sick, our only weapon against the spread of this new virus is isolation. And, nobody knows with any degree of certainty how long this will last.
Experts tell us they anticipate the peak will be in late April or May. But it could last longer than that. And, without a vaccine, there could be another cycle in the fall.
And so, it makes sense to play it safe and cancel events that, in other years seemed like they were pretty important.
But there is one event that can’t be cancelled, the election.
In New Mexico, the primary election is scheduled for June 2. Maybe the virus will be in decline by then. The general election is Nov. 3. Maybe there won’t be a second cycle of the virus in the fall.
But even if those maybes don’t turn out the way we hope, the election must take place. That means county clerks throughout the country need to start planning now to ensure that citizens are able to exercise their right to vote without putting their health at risk.
Congress is helping, but not much. The $2 trillion aid package passed last week includes $400,000 for electionas.
That’s not nearly enough. The Brennan Center for Justice has estimated that it will cost $2 billion to fully prepare states to conduct the election during the pandemic. They are calling for mail-in voting to be available in all 50 states.
Democrats in the Senate have introduced a bill that would require every state to have at least 20 days of early voting and no-excuse absentee voting by mail. But the unlikely success of that bill is reliant on Mitch McConnell allowing a vote.
New Mexico already has early voting and widespread use of absentee ballots to reduce the congestion at the polling sites on election day.
The state is considering a plan to go to all mail-in voting for the primary, according to a story by Dan McKay of the Albuquerque Journal. That would require approval by the Legislature in a special session.
Short of that, Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver is encouraging more people to use mail-in absentee ballots, and has made them available earlier than in past years.
We have kept other essential functions up and running during this pandemic, and nothing is more essential to a democracy than a fair election in which every eligible voter is able to participate without fear.
One last thing, and I never thought I’d say this, but I miss the political campaigns.
Usually by this point in the process, we’ve had our fill of election speeches, debates and town hall meetings. But now that those things have all gone away, I find myself longing for them.
I want to learn more about the new candidates who are running for local office for the first time. I want to hear from those seeking to replace our state’s longest-serving U.S. senator.
Most of all, I want to see Joe Biden go one-on-one with President Trump instead of the daily sparring with reporters at press briefings where the president controls the microphone.
I want politics. That’s another sickness for which there is no vaccine.
Walt Rubel can be reached at waltrubel@gmail.com