We're Launching Our Live Blog On All Things Election Administration (Wed. Oct. 14)
The logistics of voting — once the province of only the most committed election nerds — have become a hot topic in 2020. The pandemic has led many states to change their election rules to encourage voting by mail, and as a result a record number of Americans are expected to use a voting method other than the traditional Election Day voting booth.
However, these changes, implemented in the span of just half a year, have caused growing pains. The closure of in-person voting sites has resulted in long lines at those that have remained open. Many people have not had their votes counted because their mail ballots were rejected or didn’t arrive at all. Problems with the U.S. Postal Service have exacerbated concerns that mail ballot deadlines are impossibly tight. And the tsunami of mail ballots could mean it takes longer than ever to learn the results of the election.
Meanwhile, President Trump has repeatedly cast doubt on the integrity of the election, falsely claiming that mail ballots are prone to fraud and opening up a gaping partisan divide in who is likely to vote by mail. He has encouraged his supporters to police in-person polling locations and suggested he will challenge the results in court if he loses.
This story is constantly evolving and spinning off new subplots, so we’ve decided to devote constant coverage to it as well. So today we’re excited to introduce this “reporter’s notebook” for all things election administration (essentially, a slower-than-usual live blog that will run from today until Nov. 3). Here we’ll cover all the developments in our democracy that are too small to write full stories about: new court rulings changing a state’s election laws at the last minute; the latest problems being reported with voting; early voting totals so far and what they mean; and the latest outlook for learning results on election night.
We’ll flag issues we’re watching before they explode into national stories, and we’ll give you the context you need to understand why they’re important. We’ll also answer reader questions about voting (submit them here!) and hold live chats discussing the voting-rights topic du jour, from the battle over drop boxes, to which state makes it the hardest to vote, to the latest rhetoric from Trump.
So bookmark this page and please check back regularly to keep tabs on how “Election Month” is going!