RAND authors analyzed responses from 2,389 survey respondents about public safety, election integrity, and preparedness of local officials to manage the November 2020 election in the pandemic context. Responses indicate that although most voters say they believe that voting will be safe and that their vote will be counted despite the pandemic, those who question election safety and some who question election integrity appear less likely to vote.

Attitudes on Voting in 2020

Preparing for Elections During a Pandemic

Jennifer Kavanagh, C. Ben Gibson, Quentin E. Hodgson

ResearchPublished Aug 27, 2020

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has presented a severe threat to state election plans in 2020 for primaries and for the general election. To conduct an election during a potentially continuing threat from COVID-19, states need to consider how to conduct voter registration and provide voting options. How voters perceive and respond to these measures could affect turnout. RAND authors analyzed responses from 2,389 survey respondents about their expectations for public safety, election integrity, and the preparedness of local officials to manage the November 2020 election in the pandemic context. Responses indicate that both demographic characteristics and political partisanship influence respondent attitudes toward election safety, integrity, and preparedness. Although most voters say they believe that voting will be safe and that their vote will be counted despite the pandemic, those who question election safety and some who question election integrity appear less likely to vote. This report is part of RAND's Countering Truth Decay initiative, which is focused on restoring the role of facts, data, and analysis in U.S. political and civil discourse and the policymaking process.

Key Findings

A majority of respondents said that they expect that the 2020 election will be physically safe from COVID-19 health risks

  • Despite the acknowledged increased health risk to older voters, that population had higher perceptions of safety and preparedness than did younger voters.

A majority of respondents said that their votes will be counted accurately despite the challenges of the pandemic

  • Self-identified Republicans are more likely than self-identified Democrats to expect elections to be safe and election officials to be prepared, but Republicans express somewhat more concern than Democrats about election integrity (their votes being counted accurately) under pandemic conditions.
  • Black and Hispanic respondents tended to be less likely than White and non-Hispanic respondents to expect their votes to be counted accurately, given the pandemic context.

A majority of respondents said that local officials are prepared to carry out elections successfully

  • Hispanic respondents were less likely than other groups to report confidence in the preparedness of local officials.

Respondents were asked about three possible mitigations that could reduce the public health risk

  • Respondents registered widespread support for sanitation and social distancing at poll locations but lower support for sending mail-in ballots to all registered voters or using online voting.

Perceptions of safety and election integrity were associated with intention to vote

  • Only a small number of respondents to both a 2016 survey and the 2020 survey reported large changes in their intention to vote.
  • There was a notable increase in the number of respondents planning to vote by mail.

Recommendations

  • Election officials should ensure that they prioritize public safety and election integrity equally and clearly communicate with constituents about the steps being taken; both appear relevant to respondent intention to vote.
  • Because different groups of respondents have different safety, election integrity, and preparedness concerns, messaging targeted at groups that question these issues might be most efficient at mitigating voter concerns.
  • Offering no-excuse mail-in options could mitigate safety concerns, although state officials need to consider this option alongside others.

Topics

Document Details

Citation

Chicago Manual of Style

Kavanagh, Jennifer, C. Ben Gibson, and Quentin E. Hodgson, Attitudes on Voting in 2020: Preparing for Elections During a Pandemic. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2020. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA112-9.html.
BibTeX RIS

Funding for RAND's Countering Truth Decay research initiative is provided by gifts from RAND supporters and income from operations. RAND would like to recognize the Joel and Joanne Mogy Truth Decay Fellowship, established by the Mogys in 2020 to support research on Truth Decay, civics, and democracy. The authors drew from the Mogys' generous gift to fund this project.

This publication is part of the RAND research report series. Research reports present research findings and objective analysis that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors. All RAND research reports undergo rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for research quality and objectivity.

This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.

RAND is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.