Memo: Securing American Elections in Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic
By Ethan Winter Analyst, Data for Progress
Executive Summary
Voters support extending poll hours to ensure voting can proceed while respecting social distancing guidelines by a 77-12 percentage-point margin.
Voters support using vote-by-mail if 25 percent of the states have declared a state of emergency, backing it by a 71-17 percentage-point margin.
Voters support a reform measure stipulating states offer fifteen days of early in-person voting, no-excuse absentee voting, and the option to mail everyone a ballot during times of emergencies, backing this proposal by a 68-17 percentage-point margin.
Support for many of these proposals is bipartisan. Self-identifying Republicans support, for example, extending polling hours by a 77-14 percentage-point margin and the use of vote-by-mail by a 60-27 percentage-point margin if 25 percent of states have emergency declarations in place.
On April 7, 2020, Wisconsinites faced a choice between risking infection and participating in the democratic process. Although Governor Tony Evers, a Democrat, wanted to move the primary date to June 9, he was blocked by the Republican majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The Supreme Court of the United States then compounded this issue, likely disqualifying thousands of absentee ballots.
