Dear Governor Lee,

In-person voting in the midst of a global pandemic isn't just bad for our democracy: It is a major threat to public health.

We took an oath to protect our patients. And that’s why we’re asking you not to make them choose between protecting their health -- and the health of their loved ones -- and exercising their constitutional right, and civic responsibility, to vote.

The CDC has warned that a second wave of Covid-19 could coincide with the start of flu season, which typically begins in October. They have urged federal and state officials to use the coming months to prepare for what lies ahead. That is what we’re asking you to do.

On behalf of the Tennessee medical community, we’re asking you to temporarily expand our state’s system of absentee voting to include all registered voters.

Covid-19 is five times more infectious than the flu. It is proven to travel asymptomatically in many people, showing no symptoms, for weeks. The death rate is nearly 10 times that of the normal flu, and unlike the flu, there is currently no treatment, no vaccine, and no defense -- except the physical separation of people.

Can we count on you to protect the health of Tennesseans in this global pandemic by expanding the absentee voting system we already have, so that all registered voters can vote SAFELY?

Signed,

Dr. Thomas Phelps (Tullahoma, TN) and...