COVID-19 and the 2020 Election
A voter studies her ballot at the Voting Center at Santa Monica College, in Santa Monica, California, on Tuesday, March 3rd 2020. (Marco Palloti / The Corsair)
Just as with every other aspect of American life, politics and campaigning have quickly adapted and evolved with the global coronavirus pandemic. Social distancing has made teleconferencing and other technology the new norm for American businesses, schools, and individuals.
As Democratic strategist Stephanie Cutter recently said on MSNBC’s Meet The Press Daily, “Campaigning is not going to come to a halt, it’s just going to have a different formula…Facebook Live, Skype, Zoom meetings…all of that will be used in this [presidential election] cycle, with very little face-to-face human interaction. At least for the next several months.” Healthcare experts warn that going back to normal interactions too soon will have devastating and deadly consequences for Americans.
Thirteen primaries have already been postponed due to COVID-19: Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, and Rhode Island. The final results of California’s Democratic primary, which took place on March 6, will not be ready for weeks to come due to the outbreak.
There is already talk of significantly changing, if not altogether scrapping, both the 2020 Democratic National Convention and the 2020 Republican National Convention. Democrats have scheduled their convention for July 13-16 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, while Republicans have planned their convention for August 24-27 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Many states around the country have tightened rules for gatherings in recent weeks, in an effort to socially distance their populations and flatten the curve of the virus.
The question of how this pandemic will sway voters is an open one, especially with health experts foreseeing a peak in cases and deaths later into the summer and fall.
When asked about the prospect of an all mail-ballot campaign, Republican strategist Brad Todd put it simply: “Every Republican Secretary of State loses their job in the next primary [if they sanction mail-ballot voting]…Early voting is not something we’re crazy about.” Thirteen states across the country currently do not have restriction-free early voting, with Alabama, Connecticut, Missouri, and Mississippi having none whatsoever.
Some have even floated the idea of pushing back the election by weeks or months. Experts say that is highly unlikely, bordering on impossible.
“The date of the general election is set by law, therefore it can only be changed by an act of Congress. It is unlikely that they would take such an action,” said Steven Kurvink, professor of Political Science at Santa Monica College (SMC).
"The 18th Amendment to the Constitution states that the terms of the president and vice president expire on January 20. Whoever has won the election would take office on that day. In the unlikely event that no president or vice president had been elected by that time Congress would have to decide who would become acting president and/or how that person would be selected.”
America is in uncharted waters. The country has had presidential elections during war and famine. Neither the Civil War nor the Great Depression stopped Americans from showing up at the ballot box and exercising their democratic rights. However, a global health crisis like COVID-19 has never occurred during an election cycle.
“Before the corona[virus], I assumed we were headed for the largest turnout ever [in a presidential election]. I have no idea now in November," said MTP Daily host Chuck Todd on a recent episode of the show.
The US presidential election is scheduled for Tuesday, November 3.