Study: Coronavirus could affect presidential vote in some states

Mass coronavirus casualties could cost President Trump victories in battleground states in the fall election, potentially shifting electoral votes to presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden, according to an analysis published by academic researchers in the journal Administrative Theory & Praxis. "The pandemic is going to take a greater toll on the conservative electorate leading into this election — and that's simply just a calculation of age," said Andrew Johnson, the lead author and a professor of management at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. "The virus is killing more older voters, and in many states that's the key to a GOP victory." For example, about 11,000 more Republicans than Democrats 65 or older could die in both Michigan and North Carolina, which could swing tight races, Politico explains.

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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.