Coronavirus and Elections

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The coronavirus pandemic has forced states and political parties to postpone local, state, and primary elections.
• The CARES Act includes $400 million to help states ensure the 2020 elections are secure, accessible, and safe for voters and poll workers.
• Elections have taken place in America through war, depression, and natural disaster.

As states have instructed people to stay home to help stop the spread of the coronavirus, elections have joined the list of disrupted public events. States have begun to take action to address the effect of coronavirus on upcoming elections. Some have postponed upcoming primary elections and increased the availability of voting by mail for people who are unable or reluctant to vote in person on election day. Congress and the Trump administration have taken concrete steps to assist the states and ensure a safe, accessible, and secure 2020 election. These include appropriating $1.205 billion for elections, $400 million of which was designated for the coronavirus response in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.

Democratic Presidential Primary Election Changes by State

Democratic Presidential Primary Election Schedule by State

Historical context

This is not the first crisis to happen as Americans prepared to head to the polls. Elections for federal office took place in America through the Civil War, the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic, the Great Depression, and other economic and natural disasters. Turnout was down in those years, but the elections went forward.

In 2012, Superstorm Sandy caused extensive damage in New York and New Jersey just days before the 2012 election, reducing turnout. New York City delayed local elections for two weeks following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. 

potential Challenges

In-person voting. Given the current public health guidance related to the pandemic, voters may be hesitant or unable to spend time in a polling location. States may consolidate polling places to respond to staffing issues or select new locations to allow for greater social distancing. Other polling places may be closed to protect vulnerable populations, including those located in senior communities. In-person voting also creates challenges for states and localities as they try to get enough cleaning supplies to sanitize the machines that hundreds of voters may touch during voting.

Poll Workers. Recruiting poll workers is an ongoing challenge for election officials, and the pandemic has heightened this challenge. Many poll workers are elderly and may be hesitant to participate during the pandemic. Some officials have closed polling places during recent primary elections due to a lack of poll workers. 

Cybersecurity. Election officials are concerned about cybersecurity as they put new processes in place to address the pandemic. Cybercriminals have attempted to hack the World Health Organization and the Department of Health and Human Services during the pandemic. Election infrastructure was already a potential target for hackers. Our intelligence services have warned that Russia, China, and other countries are currently targeting the 2020 election.

Campaigns and Parties. The candidates for the Democratic nomination for president have ceased travel and cancelled campaign events in response to the pandemic. President Trump’s re-election campaign also has cut travel and cancelled events. Democrats rescheduled their nominating convention from July 13-16 to the week of August 17 in Milwaukee. Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel has stated that Republicans plan to go forward with their convention as scheduled on August 24-27 in Charlotte, N.C.

state responses

Postpone Primaries. Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, and West Virginia have postponed their presidential primaries. Primaries run by the Democratic Party in Alaska and Hawaii cancelled in-person voting and replaced it with vote-by-mail only, as did the states of Ohio and Kansas. Wyoming Democrats did the same with their caucus. Alabama postponed its runoff election for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination. Wisconsin conducted its primary on April 7 as scheduled, though several lawsuits were filed to delay the election. The governor had ordered it postponed, but the Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned his order.

Absentee Ballots and Vote-by-Mail. Nearly a fourth of all the votes cast nationwide in the 2016 election were submitted absentee via mail. The coronavirus pandemic is likely to increase that share, as people may choose to stay home when given the chance. Five western states – Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah, and Washington – had already planned to conduct the November elections entirely by mail without requiring a voter to request an absentee ballot. Other states are preparing to handle more absentee ballot requests. States will need to ensure a sufficient number of ballots are printed and to pay for increased postage costs. In one-third of the states, voters are required to have a valid excuse to vote absentee, such as being out of the state on election day, and some have considered loosening those requirements. Expansion of absentee voting may require more effort and spending to prevent vote fraud.

federal response

CARES Act. The CARES Act includes $400 million in grants for states to use for election expenses caused by the coronavirus. These can include sanitization of machines and locations; increasing cybersecurity; handling increased absentee ballot requests; postage and ballot printing costs; and ensuring polling places and ballot processing locations are staffed by trained workers. States are required to report how the funds were used to the Election Assistance Commission.

These grants are in addition to $805 million that Congress has already appropriated to the states for election administration. While that money was appropriated for the purpose of improving the administration of elections and bolstering election security, the Election Assistance Commission has told states that the funds may be used to assist with the coronavirus response. 

The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has also provided resources that continue to be available to states to evaluate the cybersecurity of new processes related to the coronavirus response.