Ensuring a Free, Fair, and Safe Election During the Coronavirus Pandemic

On Sept. 9, 2020, Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis on 2020 election reform. The hearing,  “Ensuring a Free, Fair, and Safe Election During the Coronavirus Pandemic,” discussed what was desperately needed to ensure our elections followed public health guidance, and that the pandemic would not disenfranchise millions of voters. 

Using data and information from the 2020 primary election season, Clarke noted the following:

• Many states forced voters to choose between exercising their fundamental right to vote, or their health and well-being;
• Voters in many states encountered poll closures, poll worker shortages, malfunctioning machines, long lines, and poll workers with inadequate training;
• Large numbers of voters did not receive their absentee ballots on time and chose not to vote; and 
• Changes to operations at the United States Postal Service eroded trust in the delivery of mail-in ballots.

While several states were quick to address these issues and provided voters with a “no-excuse” absentee ballot policy, or allowed voters to use their justifiable fear of acquiring COVID-19 as an excuse to request an absentee ballot, not all followed suit. Federal action was needed, and quickly. 

Clarke advocated for:

• Adding online voter registration and same-day voter registration in many states;
• Expanding options to vote by mail, the use of ballot drop boxes, and early in-person voting;
• Removing witness signatures so those who were self-isolating were not forced to interact with another individual;
• Making adjustments at polling places to allow safe, in-person voting options; and
• Appropriating more money to state and local governments so they could acquire the needed resources.

Read the full testimony here.