Coronavirus emerges as major threat to U.S. election process

FILE PHOTO: Voter Fred Hoffman fills out his ballot during the primary election in Ottawa, Illinois, U.S., March 17, 2020. The polling station was relocated from a nearby nursing home to a former supermarket due to concerns over the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). REUTERS/Daniel Acker/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. election officials looking to construct a safe voting system in a worsening coronavirus pandemic are confronting a grim reality: there may not be enough time, money or political will to make it happen by the November election.

The possibility the pandemic could last into the fall, or flare again as millions of voters are set to choose the nation's next president, has state and local officials scrambling for alternatives to help keep voters safe.