COVID-19: How it’s Affecting National Election Policy & What We’re Tracking
Since the first reported U.S. case in January, coronavirus, or COVID-19, has led to a host of changes: how we work, how we shop, and how we gather. But over the past month, the coronavirus has also begun affecting the way we vote, drastically altering how elections are conducted and scheduled throughout the country.
At BallotReady, we’re tracking six key ways COVID-19 is impacting elections, candidates, and voters.
1 // Elections are being postponed
To date, Missouri, Alabama, Louisiana, Kentucky, and more states with elections scheduled through the end of April have decidedly postponed them. In Ohio, an order from the governor and decision from the State Supreme Court means the March election has now been moved to an almost exclusively mail-in primary election on April 28.The court had originally raised questions as to whether or not DeWine had the power to override judiciary and state law and postpone the election, while critics argued that DeWine was disenfranchising them by postponing in-person elections. Ohio chapters of the ACLU, the League of Women Voters, and other voting rights advocates are still calling April 28 an “unacceptable, unworkable” date.
2 // Elections are leaving postponement decisions up to local municipalities
States like Texas and Oklahoma, where municipalities are scheduled to run local elections, states are relegating responsibility to individual cities on a case by case basis. In Texas, according to our ongoing research, most municipalities are deciding to postpone but around 10% are currently going ahead with elections as planned.
3 // Elections are moving to vote-by-mail
In the states of Maryland and Nevada, some elections will be conducted entirely via mail-in ballots in order to allow voters to practice social distancing while voting. Advocates in Wisconsin are also pushing for this measure, with proponents arguing that the cities of Milwaukee and Green Bay lack enough poll workers and polling locations to support an in-person election. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has requested the legislature act to send absentee ballots to all registered voters.
These states are not alone. In Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf introduced a bill to mail every Pennsylvania voter a vote-by-mail ballot. As of March 25, Pennsylvania lawmakers voted to postpone primary elections until June 2 with both polling place and mail-in options.
4 // Candidate ballot eligibility is being impacted
In many states and jurisdictions, candidates need to gather a certain amount of signatures from voters in order to qualify either for a primary or for a general election. Due to COVID-19, it is much harder for those candidates to get as many signatures. As a result, prospective candidates are lobbying states to relax signature requirements.In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation requiring candidates to have one-third of the signatures originally needed in order to qualify for the ballot.
5 // Polling locations are consolidating and changing
Many polling locations are moving away from senior centers, schools and churches in favor of locations that reduce the risk of COVID-19. They are also consolidating so that fewer election workers are needed as a whole.
6 // Poll workers are dropping out, citing coronavirus
Every city is in charge of setting up precincts and getting polling place volunteers. As such, retirees and the elderly are often the most common poll workers. Due to coronavirus’ increased risk for elderly populations, many poll workers are dropping out, and cities such as Green Bay and Milwaukee are having difficulty finding eligible replacements.
In the midst of all of this, election administrators continue to make new decisions based on the evolving pandemic. As elections change, keep up to date with BallotReady’s Election Tracker. In the Election Alerts tab, you'll find a list of any states we've added alerts to on our sites, as well as links to key information sources. In the Changes Tracker tab, you'll see a wealth of information about upcoming elections, including:
The status of each election (no change, postponed, partially postponed, no in-person voting, under consideration)
Original and new election dates, and potential new election IDs
Deciding authorities
Procedural vote changes
Reference links
Have questions about upcoming elections, suggestions for the tracker, or other ideas? Feel free to reach out to our data team at info@ballotready.org. If you would prefer to view the tracker in Google Sheets, please click here.