COVID-19 Is Eroding American Democracy

Voting booths at a Grand Rapids precinct for the 2020 Michigan Presidential Primary (Source)

In the past few weeks, the United States has been plunged into a crisis the likes of which very few people alive today have ever seen. The coronavirus pandemic is testing nearly every institution in the United States and globally, from our healthcare system to the way we get mail to our democracy itself.  The post-coronavirus world which we all hope to see sooner rather than has been conjectured upon to no end by major news outlets, economists, public health experts and more. One key component of post-corona life that has largely been ignored, however, is the increasingly precarious future state of voting rights in America.

With social distancing measures in place across the whole country, and concerns about people being able to safely leave their homes to go to public locations, many state legislatures have been trying to decide what to do about primary elections this summer and the general election in November. Advocates of public health and voting rights want to shift to a system of all mail-in voting for the remaining primary elections, and potentially for the general election in November. However, some groups, including many Republican, want to continue to hold in-person elections despite warnings. A few weeks ago in Wisconsin, the Republican state legislature forced an in-person election, endangering thousands of voters, and disenfranchising those who were unable to safely get to a polling place, such as the elderly and immunocompromised. The state went on to change requirements for how absentee ballots would be counted at the last minute, leaving thousands of votes uncounted. This situation has an increasingly high chance of repeating itself in November if social distancing measures are still in place. On the opposite end of the spectrum, just last week, the New York State Board of Elections opted to cancel the Democratic Presidential Primary over COVID concerns rather than risk in-person voting or switch to mail-in ballots. This action has, in effect, disenfranchised the fourth largest electorate in the country from assigning delegates who will define the future of the Democratic Party. Former primary candidate Bernie Sanders has explicitly argued that a continued primary, even as Vice President Joe Biden has emerged as the presumptive nominee, is vital to balance out the party’s platform. This cancellation, some argue, sets a dangerous precedent which President Trump could follow to cancel the November elections.

Right here in North Carolina, Republican leaders are already pushing back against the possibility of allowing all voters to submit absentee ballots. North Carolina Speaker of the House Phil Berger published a statement last week arguing against allowing absentee voting this fall on account of concerns over voter fraud. He argued that North Carolina Democrats are trying to encourage fraud by pushing for more absentee voting — ironic given the fact that the most egregious case of ballot fraud in any recent election was completed by Republican operatives. 

Realistically, the odds of ballot fraud happening are already low. In fact, Americans are more likely to get struck by lightning than to commit voter fraud by mail. However, the risks of cramming hundreds of people into one polling place during the pandemic are incredibly high. Doing so could lead to deaths and illnesses that could otherwise be prevented and a new wave of coronavirus outbreaks. While social distancing measures may not be as strict come November, there is still a high possibility that the coronavirus will still be a threat.  As such, states and local governments need to be preparing to allow everyone to vote by mail. Without doing so, states risk either putting thousands of lives in danger, or what is essentially mass voter suppression. Voters need to be paying attention to what their state government is doing, and if they can, call on local representatives to begin making preparations for mass mail-in voting. While not ideal, this is the only way voters can ensure their own health and safety in the fall, and the only way to ensure the November election is fair, free, and accessible for everyone.