The state of play: Washington is a vote-by-mail state, which presents unique concerns and benefits in the face of a health crisis…

Kim Wyman, Washington’s Secretary of State, told Axios: “Coronavirus really doesn’t affect us in the same way as states that have to open polling places.”

She said that the officials handling the ballots have been instructed to wear gloves while doing so, to change those gloves frequently and to wash their hands frequently throughout the process.

Voters have been advised to use water — not their own saliva — to seal their ballot envelope to minimize any potential spreading of the coronavirus microbes.