1 key number to watch in the 2020 race

More than half of Americans now support conducting all US elections by mail, according to a new Pew poll (52%, to be specific) — an important stat as the country grapples with how to hold a presidential election amid a pandemic.

The poll also found even more Americans (an impressive 70%) favor allowing any voter to vote by mail if they want to.

That support for voting by mail is a sharp rise from fall 2018, when support clocked in at just 32%.

But a lot has changed since then, namely the effects of the coronavirus on large gatherings in the US since social distancing began in earnest in March. Voters don’t seem to believe it will be over anytime soon: This same Pew poll found most Americans (67%!) believe the coronavirus will likely disrupt November’s presidential election.

It makes sense more Americans would support vote-by-mail now — at face value, it’s a safer way to cast one’s ballot without going into a potentially crowded polling location and using equipment touched by others casting their own.

Already we’re seeing states shift toward a coronavirus-caused vote-by-mail option.

Ohio’s initially scheduled presidential primary is now happening today, largely by mail. Absentee ballots needed to be postmarked by Monday in order to count, but voters can also bring ballots to county boards of elections before 7:30 p.m. ET Tuesday. In-person voting is available in Ohio, but only in specific cases for people with disabilities or who do not have a home mailing address.

For what it’s worth, it’s not a simple switch for states to move from in-person voting to vote-by-mail. It takes time, money and training.

Ohio’s secretary of state acknowledged these logistical hurdles in holding an election by mail, but also showed that it’s possible to make the switch. On Monday, more than 1.9 million Ohioans had requested vote-by-mail ballots and more than 1.4 million ballots had already been cast.

“In a matter of weeks, we’ve done something that’s taken other states years to do — transform our state into one capable of voting entirely by mail,” Frank LaRose said in a statement.

The Point: As the coronavirus casts uncertainty over so much of our lives, there’s a politically popular election option on the horizon: vote-by-mail.