What We Learned From The Primaries About Voting During A Pandemic
This is not the first election to take place during the pandemic this year. There were actually a total of 56 statewide primaries (or primary runoffs) between mid-March and mid-September, giving election officials in most states a practice run of sorts for holding an election under these difficult conditions — and giving us a glimpse of what to expect in the general election.
There were a few clear patterns. First and least surprisingly, mail voting was way, way up in almost every state. Second, the pandemic doesn’t appear to have hurt turnout; every primary after July 14 saw higher turnout than the equivalent election in 2016. Third, the growing pains — namely, long lines at polling places and some voters not receiving absentee ballots they requested -- tailed off in the late summer and fall, suggesting that states have improved their processes.