The current pandemic has raised numerous questions about the stability of the election process in the immediate future and beyond. The panel discusses the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on elections, including a description of the extant vote-by-mail states and the recent experiences in Wisconsin and Maryland. The panelists also discuss possible approaches that might be adapted to the November elections, specifically the feasibility of a mail-only ballot system and/or extensive use of absentee balloting, as well as potential barriers to or downsides of implementing those approaches.
May 13, 2020 Rapid Response
Adapting Elections in a Pandemic: COVID-19 and Beyond
Panelists
- Jacqueline De León, Staff Attorney, Native American Rights Fund
- Jared DeMarinis, Director of Candidacy and Campaign Finance, Maryland State Board of Elections
- Nathaniel Persily, James B. McClatchy Professor of Law, Stanford Law School
- Hon. Ellen Rosenblum, Attorney General of Oregon
- Meagan Wolfe, Administrator, Wisconsin Elections Commission
Moderator
- Estelle Rogers, Chair, ABA Standing Committee on Election Law
Joint Sponsors: ABA Standing Committee on Election Law, ABA Coalition on Racial and Ethnic Justice
Co-Sponsors: ABA Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession, ABA Section of State and Local Government Law
Resources
Presentations: Jacqueline De León, Nathaniel Persily
Transcript: Adapting Elections in a Pandemic: COVID-19 and Beyond
Stanford-MIT Project on a Healthy Election
Ten Recommendations to Ensure a Healthy and Trustworthy 2020 Election
Lawfare | March 19, 2020
We Must Vote in November. This Is How to Ensure That We Can.
New York Times | March 26, 2020
To save the election, call in the National Guard: How to safeguard the November vote despite coronavirus
New York Daily News | April 8, 2020
Stanford Law’s Nate Persily on Securing the 2020 Election
Administering an Election During a Pandemic with Nate Persily
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