Voting during a pandemic, America has done it before

America voted during 1918 pandemic

Thank you for staying up with us -- im jillian smukler.

With the election*just over a day away-- we're going back over 100 years -- to 19-18.

The reason being -- we are seeing history*repeat itself -- at least in a way.

In 1918 americans were in the midst of the influenza pandemic --- and they were also in the middle of an election year.

But when historians compare what we're going through*now to back then --- there are several striking similiarities.

Kezi 9 news reporter connor mccarthy joins us live in the studio.

And connor obviously that newspaper article behind you from that year --- looks like something we would see today.

What key similarities are we seeing between the two?

Jillian-- i talked with oregon state associate professor christopher nichols this afternoon.

He teaches history at the university and he told me the covid-19 pandemic and the 1918 influenza pandemics both tested americans at the polls--but each in a different way.

Voting during a pandemic?

"a couple of the papers reporting in early november 1918 talked about this being the most unusual election in u.s. history.

We've been hearing that all the time.

This isn't unprecent- we've heard it."

It's something our country has done before "what you saw in 1918 was a lower voter turnout.

1918 was a midterm election not a presidential election.

It was congressional and local election."

Associate professor christopher nichols says in 2020-- the pandemic is on the mind of voters far more than in 1918.

"woodrow wilson, democrat president at the time, never once mentioned.

No public addresses , no public speeches, only some corespondance we historians have access to."

He says the federal government didn't have the large national response that we're seeing now.

When americans voted in 1918--their vote wasn't seen as a referendum on the pandemic-- but of world war 1.

"people in 1918 were going to the polls, this right before the end of world war 1, they're going to the polls.

Woodrow wilson argued this should a referendum on the democratic party and his conduct on the war and the subsequent peace making."

The result of that election?

Republicans took control of both chambers of congress.

"historians argued the flu played a roll in that, how much?

We're not sure.

But the opposite is republicans too the house and the senate and then two years late in the presidential election--republicans took the presidency.

Some of that is rebuke of the handling of the pandemic."

Nicols also says in tuesday's election-- the pandemic is front and center.

And unlike in 1918-- both parties have used it as a political tool against the other side.

"for me as a historian i think thats' the most salient difference ,that it has come partisan and polictized and in 1918 there wasn't the expectation that the federal government would be as aggressively taking action but there also wasn't an expectation public health would a partisan issue at all.

" jillian-- there's that saying history tends to repeat itself-- but in reality-- it actually rhymes.

And nichols says the tones of the two pandemics sound strikingly similar and the outcome of the election this year could recall the party in power.

But only on election day will we find out.

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