Resources on Elections and COVID-19

March 23, 2020, 1:52 p.m.

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Please find below a selective list of resources relevant to the impact of COVID-19 on elections. This list will be continuously updated.

Please note that opinions expressed in each respective piece do not reflect those of IFES.  

IFES and partner’s publications:

• COVID-19: A Survival Guide for Democracies, IFES (n.d.)


• America in Comparative Perspective, IFES (November 7, 2018)


• Global overview of COVID-19: Impact on elections, International IDEA (March 18, 2020)


• Supporting Governance is Essential to Curbing COVID-19's Impact, Patrick Quirk, IRI (March 23, 2020)


• Democracy Strengthening in Fragile States Affected by Pandemics, Ancuta Hansen, NDI (March 24, 2020)


• Africa Elections Digest: COVID-19 Update, IFES (March 20, 2020)


• Political finance oversight during a global health pandemic, Yukihiko Hamada, International IDEA (March 23, 2020)


• Elections and COVID-19, International IDEA (March 2020)


• Elections and COVID-19, MIT Election Data and Science Lab (March 19, 2020)


• COVID-19 Civic Freedom Tracker, International Center for Not for Profit Law (n.d.)


• COVID-Dem Info Hub, Democratic Decay (n.d.)

Recommendations for proceeding with elections:

• Elections during COVID-19: Considerations on how to proceed with caution, International IDEA (March 18, 2020)


• Four Pillars to Safeguard Voting Rights with Vote by Mail, Marc Elias, Democracy Docket (March 18, 2020)


• Estimated Costs of Covid-19 Election Resiliency Measures, The Brennan Center (March 19, 2020)


• How to make sure everyone can vote during the coronavirus pandemic, Ian Millhiser, Vox News (March 20, 2020)


• Election Contingency Planning During the Coronavirus Pandemic, Center for American Progress (March 18, 2020)


• Ten Recommendations to Ensure a Healthy and Trustworthy 2020 Election, Nathaniel Persily and Charles Stewart III (March 19, 2020)


• Guidance on use of HAVA funds for expenses related to COVID-19, US Electoral Assistance Commission (n.d.)


• Coronavirus Resources, US Electoral Assistance Commission (n.d.)

News and op-eds:

• Should Elections be Postponed Because of Coronavirus? Toby James, Visiting Academic at International IDEA and Professor of Politics and Public Policy, University of East Anglia (March 16, 2020)


• It’s Time to Protect the 2020 Election, Too, New York Times Editorial Board (March 21, 2020)


• Could the 2020 Election Be Postponed? Only With Great Difficulty. Here’s Why. Alex Burns, the New York Times (March 14, 2020)


• Mail voting could secure the November election. But can election officials make it happen in time? Amy Gardner and Isaac Stanley-Becker, Washington Post (March 20, 2020)


• How Will the Coronavirus Pandemic Reshape the U.S. Election? Foreign Policy (March 20, 2020)


• This Isn't The First Time America Has Weathered A Crisis In An Election Year Geoffrey Skelley, FiveThirtyEight (March 23, 2020)


• We Must Vote in November. This Is How to Ensure That We Can. Bob Bauer, Ben Ginsberg and Nathaniel Persily, New York Times (March 26, 2020)


• Elections and Covid-19: Making democracy work in uncertain times, Erik Asplund and Toby James, International IDEA, Democratic Audit (March 30, 2020)


• How Will the Coronavirus Reshape Democracy and Governance Globally?, Frances Z. Brown, Saskia Brechenmacher, Thomas Carothers, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (April 6, 2020)


• How to Fix Our Voting Rules Before November, Marc Elias, Atlantic (April 6, 2020)