Elections in a Pandemic: Looking Back, Looking Ahead (2021-2022)

Background The U.S. general election in 2020 was like no other. Remarkable social forces and unprecedented levels of organization and interest across the political spectrum motivated turnout higher than had been seen in a century. Voters used new tools such as online absentee ballot tracking to express their views in unprecedented numbers. The 2020 elections, across the ballots, will be examined for years to come. Scholars and activists will study what worked and what did not and for whom, whose voices were heard, when and how, and who was excluded from participation or opted not to vote. This is a pivotal moment for research to understand our current political situation, examine what happened in 2020 and consider its implications - including issuing recommendations - for our future. Project Description This project seeks to understand what happened in the 2020 election and to use that information to make recommendations in terms of ensuring representation of all Americans in the political system moving forward. The previous teams focused on activism and the effects of that activism on facilitating participation in the 2020 election. The 2021-2022 project team will have more access to data about what happened. They will use this to understand the 2020 election and look forward and make recommendations for future elections. Team members will be divided into small teams to pursue mentored research on topics of particular interest, which will incorporate a range of different aspects of the election, its institutions, decisions made around and about those institutions, and the outcomes of those decisions. Potential issues to explore include: How different demographic groups participated in the election and the effects that participation had on them and on the election How voting procedures protected or threatened the health of voters and poll workers Whether the election preserved access to the ballot for at risk citizens The effects of provisional balloting and how different groups of voters were affected How well new tools such as online tracking of mail-in ballots worked (and for whom) Learn more about this project team by viewing the team's video. Anticipated Outputs Conference presentations; reports to Board of Elections officials and/or activist groups; multi-media outputs such as YouTube or TikTok videos to educate young voters; academic publications