全球智库信息集成服务系统

Election officials, policymakers, and elected officials at the state and local level will need to determine how to balance risk across several factors

• They will have to promote physical safety for the voting public and protect election workers from the health risks associated with COVID-19.
• They will have to maintain the integrity of the registration and voting processes, addressing fraud and undue influence while ensuring privacy.
• They will have to ensure fair and equitable access for all eligible voting populations without undue burden.
• They will have to evaluate voting options in terms of planning, timelines, costs, and materials.

States have different voting options that pose different levels of risk

• In-person voting poses higher safety risks and minimal to moderate other risks.
• Absentee ballots and mail-in voting both pose relatively low risks across the board, although logistics could get tricky for states that have less experience with these options.
• Online voting is not really a viable option: It is available in only limited circumstances and would be difficult to implement securely on a large scale by November.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has presented a severe threat to state election plans in 2020 for primaries and for the general election. To conduct an election during a potentially continuing threat from COVID-19, states need to consider how to conduct voter registration and provide voting options. Several voting and registration options are available to states to ensure the safety of elections despite the pandemic. These options are outlined in this report, taking into account the factors that officials will have to examine in determining how to conduct the election safely; the advantages and challenges of each approach; and levels of risk regarding safety, integrity, access, and logistics. This report is part of RAND's Countering Truth Decay initiative, which is focused on restoring the role of facts, data, and analysis in U.S. political and civil discourse and the policymaking process.

• Chapter One

  Introduction

• Chapter Two

  How the United States Votes

• Chapter Three

  Factors to Consider in Preparing Election Systems for Response to the Pandemic

• Chapter Four

  Evaluation of Options for Registration and Voting During a Pandemic

• Chapter Five

  Considering a Portfolio of Options for Registration and Voting During a Pandemic