University of California, Davis

Safe polling access during COVID-19 in the United States involved maintaining access to voting while reducing exposure risks associated with in-person voting, consolidated polling locations, and facilities serving vulnerable populations. The topic includes evidence about infection rates, polling-site challenges, proposed safety measures, and state mail-in voting procedures during the 2020 election period.

Safe Polling Access During COVID-19 in the United States

WSJ Staff. (2020, August 20). How to Vote by Mail in Every State. Retrieved August 23, 2020, from https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-to-vote-by-mail-in-every-state-11597840923

 How to Vote by Mail in Every State

In the United States, contact-tracing analysis by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services identified 71 confirmed cases of COVID-19 to in-person voting in the April of 2020.  In an extensive observational and analytical study from primary data, results indicate that on average a 10% increase in in-person voters per polling location between counties is associated with approximately a 17.7% increase in the positive test rate.  It is notable that the infection data provided by the Wisconsin Elections Commission and Wisconsin Department of Health Services should be relatively reliable given that the election occurred during a “safer at home” government warning, meaning infection from non-essential activities is less likely.   The “safer at home” warning was also announced only two weeks prior to the election with little time to make arrangements for socially distanced alternatives, so the sample of voters should be relatively representative of the broader population. 

Case Study Covid-19 Infection Rate and US In-Person Elections

 Another important consideration is that poling is hosted out of nursing homes and senior centers, which could increase exposure to some of the most vulnerable populations.   This means that communities will either be forced to consolidate voting facilities, creating longer lines and increasing likelihood of transmission, or to continue polling in facilities shared with vulnerable populations, increasing likelihood of mortality.

Covid-19 and Challenges to Polling Sites in the US


It is estimated that it will require \\$4 billion in public investment and a massive mobilization effort to ensure all eligible voters can have a ballot reach them for the 2020 US presidential election. Advocates are supporting a shift to digital voter registration, appropriate polling site sanitation, 1 week of in-person early voting prior to official election day, and advanced polling location safety checks by public health officials. These measures have been endorsed by the US CDC, though federal mandates have been conservative thus far.

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