Can Elections Be Credible During a Pandemic? Ashley Quarcoo

The coronavirus pandemic is causing an unprecedented disruption in elections worldwide. Regardless of whether countries are holding or delaying elections, the decisions are having a major impact on the political fortunes of incumbents and challengers, as well as on voter participation. To ensure the credibility of electoral processes while maintaining public health, some governments are testing or expanding new systems—such as proxy voting and mail balloting—while political parties and civil society organizations are conceiving new ways to engage voters. However, despite these efforts, low voter turnout, unequal campaign conditions, and limited domestic or international observation threaten to cast a shadow on the legitimacy of elections. The unfolding political consequences of these widespread disruptions and new innovations are enormous and are just starting to be understood. National governments and election aid providers will need to up their game to reduce the disruptive effects and ensure that 2020 does not become the year when elections were thrown fundamentally off track.

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