Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

July 30, 2020

Notes from the Field: Public Health Efforts to Mitigate COVID-19 Transmission During the April 7, 2020, Election ― City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, March 13–May 5, 2020

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  • Wisconsin, the first state to hold an election with in-person voting after stay-at-home orders were issued, observed no clear increase in cases, hospitalizations, or deaths after the election. Various mitigation strategies, in line with the CDC guidance and additional measures, were implemented in Milwaukee to prevent the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 at in-person polling venues.  
  • These data provide preliminary evidence that CDC’s interim guidance for precautions at voting sites, including encouraging physical distancing, personal prevention practices, and employing environmental cleaning and disinfection, may lower COVID-19 transmission risk during elections. This report concludes that further risk reduction can be achieved by fully implementing CDC interim guidance, which recommends longer voting periods, and other options such as increasing the number of polling locations to reduce density in indoors in polling locations. 

Paradis et al. (July 31, 2020). Notes from the Field: Public Health Efforts to Mitigate COVID-19 Transmission During the April 7, 2020, Election ― City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, March 13–May 5, 2020. MMWR. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6930a4