Elections During COVID-19: 50-State Legal Resources

As the coronavirus pandemic has grown, an urgent focus on keeping voting safe and accessible during the 2020 election cycle has emerged at all levels of government. With most states continuing to implement social distancing and other public health protections due to COVID-19, federal, state, and local election officials across the country have been evaluating voting procedures and election dates to determine what modifications are needed to keep voters and poll workers safe while ensuring that people can still exercise their right to vote. Since the spring, some jurisdictions have postponed elections, whereas others have expanded access to mail-in ballots and/or taken other steps.

Federal Measures

The federal response to the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the 2020 election cycle has primarily taken the form of funding made available to the states through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Specifically, when this law took effect in late March 2020, it allocated $400 million in supplemental Help America Vote Act (HAVA) funds for states to use to pay for things like increased voting by mail and absentee voting, as well as personal protective equipment for poll workers. A hurdle to accessing this aid is that states must provide 20% in matching funds, despite having lost significant revenue in most cases due to COVID-19. Some federal legislators have requested to have the matching funds requirement eliminated, and lawmakers are also advocating for measures that would make additional money available to the states to expand voting by mail and cover other increased election expenses associated with the pandemic. In terms of the November 3, 2020 general election date, this can only be moved with Congressional approval, among other things, making a postponement unlikely.

State Responses

Officials have been assessing similar options at the state level. A number of jurisdictions have already embraced absentee voting or voting by mail to varying degrees, with states such as Colorado and Washington leading the movement in terms of conducting elections almost entirely by mail. Other states have historically made absentee voting and voting by mail more difficult to access by mandating that voters meet certain requirements (such as being ill or out of town) in order to vote by mail, and have a notary be present when they sign their ballot.

In states already moving in the direction of increased voting by mail, the coronavirus outbreak has largely served to accelerate those efforts, with officials often keeping established election dates in place or extending the time during which mail-in ballots can be returned. In other states, officials have implemented a variety of responses, such as temporarily relaxing the requirements to access mail-in ballots or rescheduling elections. It is important to be aware that rules and procedures associated with absentee voting and voting by mail are the subject of ongoing litigation in several states, and that changes are occurring rapidly in this area.

Click on each state below to learn more about each jurisdiction’s current response to COVID-19 concerns in the context of the 2020 election cycle.

Alabama

Election Date Changes: The March 31, 2020 primary runoff was held on July 14, 2020.
Voting Procedure Changes: Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill has stated that coronavirus concerns will be an adequate basis for absentee voting in the November general election. Voters who want to exercise this option must mark a box stating that a physical illness or infirmity prevents them from going to the polls. The deadline to apply for an absentee ballot for the November election is October 29, although Merrill recommends applying as soon as possible. Ballots must be returned by November 2.
Debated Issues: A federal judge temporarily suspended or limited some of Alabama’s voting rules, including a ban on curbside voting and provisions related to the photo ID and witness requirements for absentee voting. The photo ID and witness requirements were reinstated on appeal, but the curbside voting ban remained suspended as ordered by the lower court.