Proper Protective (Voting) Equipment: How Covid-19 Safety Measures Shaped In-Person Voting Experiences During the 2020 Election

Abstract

Leading up to the 2020 election, many Americans were worried about casting a ballot in-person due to the Covid-19 pandemic and supported measures to protect voters at the voting booths. Addressing these concerns, election administrators enacted multiple Covid safety measures (e.g., routinely cleaning voting booths, wearing face masks, and providing single use ballot pens). Given voters’ health concerns related to the pandemic and support for safety measures at the ballot box, the presence of Covid safety protocols may increase how safe voters feel voting in-person and evaluations of their voting experience. Using the 2020 Survey of the Performance of American Elections, this study finds that the presence of Covid safety measures increased feelings of voting safety, evaluations of poll workers, and the positivity of the voting experience, but typically not polling place evaluations; though, effects differ by Covid safety policy.

Health Risks and Voting: Emphasizing Safety Measures Taken to Prevent COVID-19 Does Not Increase Willingness to Vote in Person

“…At the same time, there also appeared to be widespread support for polling place safety measures like social distancing, mask wearing, and sanitization (Douglas and Zilis 2021). Coll (2022a) found that among those who voted in person in 2020, polling place safety measures increased perceptions of safety, although it is not clear if those who did not vote in person were aware these measures were in place or would have been made to feel safer by them. Additionally, Coll (2022b) finds that polling place safety measures increased the amount of time people took to vote, suggesting an important potential downside to these measures if the possibility of longer waits decreased turnout.…”