Health Minister Renward Wells and National Security Minister Marvin Dames.
By LEANDRA ROLLE
Tribune Staff Reporter
lrolle@tribunemedia.net
NATIONAL Security Minister Marvin Dames suggested yesterday that people in quarantine for COVID-19 exposure may not be allowed to vote in the upcoming general election.
However, he said a decision has not yet been finalised as the government is still being guided by health officials.
The issue of voting for those quarantined has been a heavily discussed topic in recent weeks as many fear preventing such voters the ability to take part in elections could lead to disenfranchisement.
According to the Parliamentary Elections Act, registered people are allowed to vote as a special voter in the advanced poll under certain circumstances, including illness or infirmity.
However, such people would have to write to the parliamentary commissioner for a special voter certificate, though it is not clear if the rule also applies to people suffering from COVID-19.
When asked for an update on whether those in quarantine or COVID-19 positive people will be allowed to cast their ballots on Election Day, Mr Dames—who has responsibility for elections—said the rules for quarantining people are quite clear.
“Would you like to have a COVID positive voter next to you? What does quarantine mean?...Quarantine is quarantine,” he said before going to a Cabinet meeting.
“If someone has COVID and they’re in quarantine, they’re quarantined for a reason... I mean look, you have people who are incarcerated on Election Day, you have people who are hospitalised on Election Day. You have people who are out of the country on Election Day and they may be registered voters, but they can’t vote because of the circumstances and so, we’ll see.”
Health Minister Renward Wells was also asked about his ministry’s views on allowing people in quarantine to vote.
He said it is the position of health officials that such people should not be allowed to vote on the basis that it could potentially lead to further COVID spread.
“From the Ministry of Health’s standpoint, we’re taking the position that they probably will not be able to vote,” Mr Wells said.
“But again, as I’ve always said that has to come from the Prime Minister via the cabinet of The Bahamas, but there are recommendations in that regard by health personnel... Think about it now, how are you going to let someone who is in quarantine and who has the potential to affect other persons to go out into a polling station?”
Mr Wells said officials will be on high alert for people seeking to break quarantine rules for the purpose of voting if it has been decided they will not be allowed to vote.
“The COVID police along with the surveillance unit of my ministry have an idea as to who is supposed to be in quarantine… because remember those persons who are a part of the COVID police and a part of surveillance are probably going to vote in the early poll so on Election Day they’re going to be able to monitor,” the health minister added.
The advanced poll is on September 9, seven days before Election Day.
With high COVID-19 numbers being recorded daily, it is conceivable people could be in quarantine during both events.
Last week, Wayne Munroe, the Progressive Liberal Party’s candidate for Free Town, called on the government to follow the lead of its Caribbean counterparts when determining how people in quarantine can still vote.
He said it’s important for officials to ensure voters are not left disenfranchised this election cycle.
However, Mr Dames stressed yesterday not every registered voter will be able to cast their ballots this year.
“You’re never going to have 100 percent voting on Election Day,” Mr Dames continued. “No country could boast of that unless it’s a country that’s designed that way and so we have to accept the fact that those persons who are able to vote on Election Day should be encouraged and come out to vote.
“We have been a country—we continue to boast of our percentages during Election Day and I don’t expect that will change in any way. Bahamians love Election Day. They love voting and so we should all be excited.”
It is not clear how many people are currently in quarantine, but the numbers are likely to be in the thousands with some 3,093 COVID-19 cases said to be still active as of August 29.
Comments
joeblow 3 years, 2 months ago
... you can campaign in groups or at nomination day if you are unknowingly covid positive, but you can't vote if you are? Makes no sense to me! Provisions can be made for voting to take place outdoors with the necessary safeguards in place.
It is also important to note the PCR test cannot tell if the virus is dead or alive. So a positive test does not mean a person is infectious It has been confirmed that a person can be over covid and asymptomatic but still have a positive PCR test because bits of dead virus are still present in the system!
FreeportFreddy 3 years, 2 months ago
You can't vote from a hospital bed while unconscious!!!
Get the jab!!!
joeblow 3 years, 2 months ago
... but you can vote while vaccinated and covid positive! This may well be a super spreader event for the vaccinated!
John 3 years, 2 months ago
John 3 years, 2 months ago
So there is no easy fix to this problem. The facts are the prime minister decided to call a nine months early election in the height of a currently unrelenting, highly infectious and deadly, global pandemic. The closest way to ensure that everyone is safe is to do testing at the polls. Don’t mention vaccines because data now confirms that vaccinated people have the ability to spread the virus more than unvaccinated persons because they will have no symptoms when infected. The need to keep everyone safe is highly understood and should always be a number one priority. . . Most Bahamians stand on lines at the bank and in the food stores and at fast food places,, and yes, government buildings and offices,to transact their business on a daily basis. Many are safe and avoid contracting the virus. Many have been unknowingly exposed to it and may have now developed an immunity to it. They get a temperature check, ensure that they have oa mask that is on properly and, for the most part, people are safe
baclarke 3 years, 2 months ago
Should be interesting to see what the solution is. How will persons with symptomatic Covid vote? This whole situation is tense. Let's see how they roll this process out. Personally, I do not want to stand in a long line with a bunch of possible Covid-19 infected persons to vote. There was a comment about vaccination. Please, for the love of God, this is irrelevant to this conversation. I am vaccinated, but the vaccine will not stop the spread of Covid, so it has no impact on this conversation.
John 3 years, 2 months ago
Don’t know how this post got truncated and chopped up but I will try repost the part. That is missing. From memory: Marvin Dames says Covid positive people should be in quarantine and will not be allowed to vote. Fine if he say so. The intention is understood. There are currently 3.100 Covid patients in the Bahamas and those that are not in hospital are supposed to be in quarantine. Some are home ill and not mobile and others have no symptoms, are not Ill are can move around freely, once they get s negative test indicating they are now free of the virus.
. . Then there are persons who are supposed to be in isolation because they may have been in contact with s person who tested positive for the virus. Some may have been extremely at home, at their jobs or in social setting. Data indicates s person with the Delta variant can infect from 6 to 9 people. So if contact tracing is effective there may be an additional 18,000 to 55,000 Bahamians in isolation, Do is Marvin Dames making a distinction between quarantine and isolation or will these people in isolation also not be allowed to vote? Quarantine is quarantine, also remember the people in quarantine and isolation today may not be the ones there on Election Day. In fact there may be more and most newly infected, based on current trends. That is s huge chunk of the voter population to not be voting. Probably more than all the swing voters. Do this can become very dangerous anf not only from the fear of contracting Covid, but determining the outcome of the Election.
John 3 years, 2 months ago
Have Marvin Dames made provisions for voters to not have to stick their thumb in that potentially , corona infected jar of ink? That is the concern of most voters. And don’t say sanitize then dip or Vice versa. That ain’t not doing.
Sickened 3 years, 2 months ago
It's best to just stay away from the polling booths all together. We will end up with the same result - i.e. no matter which party wins, we are getting a PM that the vast majority of us don't want and a party that performs barely adequately if at all as well as a constituency representative who ignores us for the next 4.5 years.
At least in past elections you would get time off of work to go an vote and while standing in line you can catch up with people you ain seen in years. This year ain't no one working so your using up your personal chill time and you don't want to see people in line because they probably positive for the virus but because they're vaccinated you can't tell that there breath is deadly.
JokeyJack 3 years, 2 months ago
If the vast majority dont want them as you suggest, then Lincoln and his fellow independents are there. You can choose COI and a new Bahamas. Lincoln, Daxon, Green, Rodgers, etc. Otherwise, i hope you come off Tribune on the 17th cause you just typing to exercise ya fingah bro.
Sickened 3 years, 2 months ago
I was invited and was intending to go to the COI meeting last Saturday out west but it was cancelled, unfortunately. I love the idea of independents. Any other brilliant suggestions?
bahamianson 3 years, 2 months ago
The resjlt will always be the same. It is the law of nature. 50% of the people will like you and 50% will dislike you. It is what it is.
mandela 3 years, 2 months ago
Other countries have held an election successfully during this pandemic, with the persons that are in quarantine being able to be involved in the election process and have their votes counted. The person responsible for the election is just plain lazy or doesn't believe in a fair election. Minister Dames could track down someone and cause them to be brought before the courts in record time for allegedly moving red signs, but with months on hand could not put a plan together to ensure that all are able to cast a vote including the persons in quarantine, no plan, no vision.
John 3 years, 2 months ago
On the streets they say: Quarantine is for people who tested positive for Covid and may show no sign or mild to moderate signs of the virus. Some may be ill but not sick enough to be admitted to the hospital, especially under the overcrowded conditions that presently exist. They must test negative to be released from quarantine. .
ISOLATION is persons who may have been exposed to the virus, Ei at work or home or some social situation. Other may have travelled to highly infected areas. They may not test positive for Covid butare required to isolate for a period of 5-14 days. Once they do not develop symptoms and complete the required isolation they are free to re-enter the general population. Persons wanting to shorten isolation can take a test after five days and the test must prove negative. Again that is the understanding of quarantine and isolation on the streets so maybe Marvin Dames needs to explain what he means by ‘quarantine is quarantine.’
John 3 years, 2 months ago
Maybe persons recently released from quarantine and wishing to vote should take their Covid tests results with them to avoid being identified as ‘Covid positive’, arrested and denied the opportunity to vote, as is likely to happen if up-to-date records are not available at the polls. And the understanding is that persons can still be challenged at the polls on the grounds that ‘dry pose to be in quarantine.’
rodentos 3 years, 2 months ago
it can be solved very easily:
one place for covid+ voters and other places for covid- voters.
Sickened 3 years, 2 months ago
Not sure who will volunteer to work the covid booths? Maybe officials infected with covid? Could work. Better than not having any options available.
rodentos 3 years, 2 months ago
give them protective gear! people work in hospitals with far more covid patients in same room than will ever be the case in a voting place. You can do it open air, as long as you can walk you should be able to vote!
Clamshell 3 years, 2 months ago
The answer is an absentee-voter alternative, with the ballots individually bar-coded to prevent fraud. Many nations and every state in the U.S. do this. Some of those rural U.S. states are not much more populous than the Bahamas, so it’s not as if this is impossible. SMH.
stillwaters 3 years, 2 months ago
No matter what they decide, there will be a group of people kicking up a fuss. If they can't vote:the government is taking away their rights. If they can vote:the government is intentionally releasing covid among the population, they don't care, just want votes. Sigh...........
TalRussell 3 years, 2 months ago
If you aren't already feelin' that painful and unnecessary election's thorn to the flesh — that points to the Red Party's, well-orchestrated campaign to — spread the wealth that was quickly oversubscribed by the few— that was lifted up by the creation of a broader class of elites that's prepared to do or say anything to retain power.
In fact, the indisputable evidence will most certainly make you feel a prick to the flesh, set against a backdrop of new and increased wealth can be found amongst the abundance of evidence — points to the Red Party's orchestrated campaign to spread the wealth that has been oversubscribed — that has lifted up and created a — more restricted privileged upper-class elites that are prepared to campaign on anything if it helps them to retain governance power.
— If Truthbeout, there exists pages and pages of indisputable evidence of new and increased wealth which can be found flowing off the — of record financial disclosures pages amongst the then Red Party's successful 2017 candidates — contesting for House seats.
—Yes, Pindling sprung up common wealth, spread wide for the benefit of an entire new middle-class in the thousands that mostly moved out from over-the-hill. The restricted numbers wealth-uplifted Reds have mostly moved out already well-priced subdivisions into society's Behind the Golden-Gated Communities, — including Albany and Lyford Cay.— Yes?
themessenger 3 years, 2 months ago
Just as a point of interest Tal, the yellow party was instrumental in establishing & creating that broader class of elites that would say or do anything to retain power and Pindling was the one who presided over it all. An abundance of evidence is also available to point to the yellow party’s previously orchestrated campaigns to spread the wealth. And lest we forget, there are easily just as many wealth uplifted yellows living in those Golden Gated communities of which you prate. Ironically, none of them give a rats ass either about the unwashed plebes be they yellow, red or green.
John 3 years, 2 months ago
Maybe Covid positive persons can vote by drone. As much as they cost, those drones should be up to the task.
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