In 2020, COVID-19 became a global pandemic devastating physical and mental health, social wellbeing, and the economic status of millions globally. Unforgettable images of death and the deep wounds inflicted on the livelihoods of employees and business owners were broadcast daily in the media. Less visible was the political fallout that threatened the rights of countless voters seeking to exercise their democratic rights under exceptional conditions. In the United States, the scourge of the pandemic came during a highly contentious presidential election year, where states were challenged to administer multiple elections in the context of changing public health mandates, critical supply and personnel shortages, and decreased election funding. What lessons can be drawn from this political moment to ensure that future elections continue to be resilient in the face of threatening circumstances? What reforms adopted in COVID-19’s midst will remain—for better or worse? Featuring cutting-edge research from top and emerging scholars of election administration, both inside and outside of academia, Pandemic at the Polls is a must-read for elections scholars, administrators, and students of democratic elections.

Table of Contents:

Preface
Acknowledgements

Part I: Pandemic Election Context

Introduction
Dari Sylvester Tran
Chapter 1: The Pandemic Voting Experience
Martha Kropf
Chapter 2: The Pandemic, The U.S. Postal Service, and Mail Voting Laws and Voting in American Elections
Michael J. Ritter
Chapter 3: Plotting Out Election Administrative Insights Aad Recommendations from the 2020 Election
John A. Curiel and Declan Chin
Chapter 4: Online Hostility towards Local Election Officials Surged in 2020
Joelle Gross, Samuel Baltz, Mara Suttmann-Lea, Thessalia Merivaki, and Charles Stewart III

Part II: Adaptation and Alternative Voting Arrangements

Chapter 5: What Drove the Increase in Mail Voting in the 2020 General Election?
Lindsay Nielson, David Varas Alonso, and Sidney Carl Turner
Chapter 6: Adapting Democracy: Implementing Vote Centers During a Pandemic
Anita Manion, David Kimball, Joseph Anthony, and Adriano Udani
Chapter 7: The New Role of Philanthropy in Supporting Election Administration in the 2020 Election
Mitchell Brown and Kathleen Hale

Part III: Improving the Path Forward

Chapter 8: Queuing up Problems: The Application and Status of Queuing Catastrophes in Election Administration
John A. Curiel

Chapter 9: Automatic Voter Registration and List Maintenance
Jonathan Griffiths and Marc Meredith
Conclusion
Martha Kropf
About the Contributors
Index