Lessons Learned from the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election Hindsight is 2020

In this book, leading and emerging election scholars document the steps that state and local election officials took to augment their elections during the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of these changes. Written for academics, practitioners, and election laypeople, this book details what went right, what went wrong, and what we can learn from the 2020 US presidential election. The 2020 election cycle was unique in American history. Held during the COVID-19 pandemic, efforts were made at the federal, state, and local levels to ensure voters could safely access elections. These changes included providing greater access to mail/absentee voting, installing ballot drop boxes, outfitting polling places with protective equipment, and much more. Many of these changes were politicized, with Republicans and Democrats viewing these changes differently.

Contributing authors address how states and localities altered their elections in light of the pandemic; poll worker motivation for working during a health crisis, and how the changes to elections were viewed by election officials; the effects of these changes on whether a citizen decided to cast a ballot, how they voted, and who they voted for; how these changes influenced evaluations of elections, how long voters waited to cast a ballot, and their confidence in the outcome of the election; and, finally, what we can learn about election administration, access, and evaluations from this historic election.

Chapter 1- Lessons Learned from the 2020 US Election.- PART 1: The Administration of the 2020 Election. Chapter 2- Ain’t no mountain high enough: What motivates poll workers to serve during a pandemic emergency and political unrest.- Chapter 3- The Impacts of COVID-19 on Election Administration: Perspectives from Local Election Officials in the United States.- PART 2: Vote Methods, Vote Choice, and Voter Turnout. Chapter 4- The Pandemic and Vote Mode Choice in the 2020 Election.- Chapter 5- Access to voting and participation: Does the policy of limiting mail-in ballot dropbox locations in Ohio suppress voter turnout?.- Chapter 6- Vote Choice during a Pandemic: How Health Concerns Shaped the 2020 Presidential Election.- PART 3: The Voter Experience. Chapter 7- How COVID-19 Election Access Policies Shaped Voter Fraud Beliefs and Voter Confidence in the 2020 US Election.- Chapter 8- The Tradeoff Between Protecting Voters and Ensuring Access for In-Person Voters During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Joseph A. Coll is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the College of Wooster, USA. His research examines the factors that influence the access and administration of elections, how that access and administration affects political behavior and public opinion, and how this then goes on to affect public policy.

Joseph Anthony is Assistant Professor of Political Science at SUNY-Cortland, USA. His research focuses on elections administration and public policies, as well as political parties and organizations in the United States. His research priorities investigate the electoral and institutional structures that impact political participation, and the organizational structures that mobilize this participation.