Voting After the Virus: Will elections be changed forever after COVID-19?

• Author: Zoch, Amanda

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally altered the 2020 election landscape. By May 1, at least 18 states had postponed presidential preference primaries, state primaries, runoffs or a combination of these. Georgia and Louisiana--the first two states to delay their elections--have now shifted their primaries for a second time.

Many of the postponed primaries are slated for June 2, which--with at least nine presidential and seven state primaries--is now set to be a second Super Tuesday.

With former Vice President Joe Biden as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, the state primaries may be the races to watch.

Several states have rescheduled for even later dates, including New Jersey, which moved its primaries to July 7 from June 2. More delays may be coming.

How voters' anxiety over the pandemic will affect their voting behavior is hard to know. Rescheduling elections, however, allows them to stay home during the worst of the crisis. And it gives states more time to adapt to the challenges of running elections during a public health emergency--moving polling places away from assisted living facilities, protecting voters and poll workers from spreading the disease, making special arrangements for certain voters (those in quarantine, for example), all while keeping it fair for everyone.

Voting by Mail

Many state legislatures and governors are looking to reduce potential health risks by expanding absentee or mail-in voting, at least for the primaries. Thirty-four states allow any voter to request an absentee ballot for any reason. Several of the states that require voters to supply a reason before receiving an absentee ballot have clarified that COVID-19 counts as a valid excuse.

The Granite State, for example, has a temporary emergency order allowing anyone to vote absentee using the "disabled" reason. New Hampshire Senator Melanie Levesque (D) would like that to be permanent and clearer for voters. "Enacting no-excuse absentee voting would give the public more certainty," she says, so that "they can choose how to vote if they have concerns about safety."

Lawmakers in some states have also made it easier for voters to obtain their absentee ballots. Idaho launched an online absentee ballot application option in March, becoming the 12th state to do so. Election officials in 10 states decided to mail absentee ballot applications directly to all registered voters for the states' primaries. And Michigan and Nevada will send actual...