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Elections: During a Pandemic

This paper analyses the conduct of elections during the Covid-19 pandemic. The

paper shall firstly analyse the impact of COVID-19 pandemic and limitations imposed on our

daily functioning. The paper shall secondly conduct a cross jurisdictional analysis of

elections conducted relating to the procedures, limitations, contentions and criticisms. The

paper shall lastly lay down a suggestive guideline inferring from aforementioned

investigation.

Introduction

The destructive global pandemic of COVID-19 has provided government leaders

around the world with unparalleled obstacles. The value of restrictive steps such as

lockdowns to slow the transmission of the infection, alleviate the pressure on the health care

system and eventually, save lives, is accepted by most public health authorities. There has,

moreover been significant variance in the stringency of answers from governments. Although

part of the variance can be clarified by the severity and timing of the infection, many other

causes have been pointed out as possible contributors. In fact1, it has been found that

restrictive policies damage the economy and unequally distributed their pressure around the

society. Elected officials also have to trade the advice of consultants for the expectations of

constituents in this situation, who would eventually evaluate their results.

1
Galasso, V. (2020). Covid: Not a great equaliser. Covid Economics, 1(19):241–255.
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In this regard, for a broad variety of countries, public opinion polls2 on COVID-19

indicate that economic factors appear to be the key worry of citizens, rather than wellbeing.

Anti-lockdown demonstrations3 have occurred across the world. Conscious of the possible

electoral costs of a struggling economy, political officials have also reacted by relaxing these

constraints.

Elections4 are a central aspect and 'fundamental predicate' to democracy, which offer

the primary process by which elected officials are selected and kept responsible and by which

voters engage in their country's governance. The willingness of countries to stage elections is

further strengthened by a strong framework of defence of human rights, including freedom of

movement, freedom of speech, freedom of association and freedom of expression. (1) the

electoral unit (local, regional and national), (2) the branch of government (executive and

legislative divisions, which can be bicameral or unicameral), and (3) the timing and form of

elections 1 Elections combine voters' preferences and mediate their interaction with

government through many distinct dimensions: (1) the electoral unit (local, regional and

national) (mid-term, primary, and general). And government officials would continue to

concentrate on steps that minimise the worse and most possible threats confronting these

systems while the pandemic runs its course.

2
Oliver, L. (2020). "Most people see COVID-19 as an economic crisis first, health risk second, survey

finds ". World Economic Forum. URL: https://www.weforum.org/ agenda/2020/03/covid-19-public-perception-

economic-health-crisis- coronavirus-pandemic-ipsos/.

3
"Anti-Lockdown Protesters Demonstrate In London". Republic World, 2020,

https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/uk-news/anti-lockdown-protesters-demonstrate-in-london.html.

4
James, Toby S. "New Development: Running Elections During A Pandemic". Public Money &

Management, 2020, pp. 1-4. Informa UK Limited, doi:10.1080/09540962.2020.1783084.

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Different government reactions5 and the dissemination of the virus may have a major

effect on what is regarded as the democratic cycle or the collection of measures and

procedures involved in the operation of elections. There are a variety of factors in the

democratic cycle related to: (1) the pre-election process (training, details and identification of

voters), (2) the electoral period (nominations, promotions, votes and results) and (3) the post-

election period (review, reform, and strategies). Such aspects should, under more common

situations, be in order to provide adequate procedures, to provide opportunities for electors to

educate themselves and to administer elections in ways that optimise political engagement

and to produce trustworthy and valid outcomes.

There are many aspects in which any one of these systems may be affected by the

pandemic and governmental reaction6. The virus7 itself may, first, deter voters from voting

their ballots and impact total participation levels. Voter participation is seen by many as a

critical element undergirding the credibility of a referendum, supplying politicians with

democratic mandates, and as an indicator for democracy's wellbeing in general. Over the past

few decades, mature democracies have undergone a secular decrease in voter participation, a

5
Orr, Graeme. "The Demos In A Pandemic: Staging Elections In A Health Emergency". SSRN

Electronic Journal, 2020. Elsevier BV, doi:10.2139/ssrn.3575265.

6
Giommoni, Tommaso, and Gabriel Loumeau. "Lockdown And Voting Behaviour: A Natural

Experiment On Postponed Elections During The COVID-19 Pandemic". SSRN Electronic Journal,

2020. Elsevier BV, doi:10.2139/ssrn.3659856.

7
Pyrzynska, Agata, and Dominika Skoczylas. "Elections During COVID-19 Pandemic In The Light Of

Democratic Values And International Standards Of Human Rights Protection". EUROPEAN RESEARCH

STUDIES JOURNAL, XXIII, no. Special Issue 2, 2020, pp. 226-246. ISMA SYC INT, doi:10.35808/ersj/1820.
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pattern that could well escalate as a consequence of the pandemic in these democracies, as

well as impacting emerging democracies worldwide.

Secondly8, the effects of structured postponement differ according to the type of

regime. For instance, postponement can contribute to intensifying polemics in complete or

'faulty' democracies, e.g. in the US, France, Italy, and Poland. The epidemic has thrown the

calendar of the 2020 election campaign into chaos in the US. A partisan electoral controversy

has been a question over alternate voting systems. Postponement will contribute to enhanced

political instability and the weakening of the rule of law in hybrid structures with a certain

involvement of electoral processes. The pandemic emergency overlaps with the political

instability caused in Bolivia following the contentious October 2019 elections. On 21 March,

the scheduled elections were postponed until 3 May. A plan for fresh elections to take place

between 7 June and 6 September has been submitted to Parliament by the electoral

administration agency, which will vote on a new date when the containment steps are

removed. Postponement may establish a power vacuum in elected authoritarian regimes,

misuse of power and abuse of state of emergency measures, further consolidating

authoritarian rule, weakening the rule of law and further threatening the security of human

rights (e.g. as occurred in Hungary, where a slate of authoritarian measures were taken under

Victor Orbán's leadership).

Third9, it can influence several various elements of the electoral cycle. Voting events

on Polling Day and elections may be interrupted in the run-up to an election. The Biden

8
Landman, Todd, and Luca Di Gennaro Splendore. "Pandemic Democracy: Elections And COVID-

19". Journal Of Risk Research, vol 23, no. 7-8, 2020, pp. 1060-1066. Informa UK Limited,

doi:10.1080/13669877.2020.1765003.
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initiative in the United States spoke remotely to citizens, although the gatherings of the

national party did not take place in a usual manner. Education and voter identification, as was

the case in the primary in Wisconsin, could be impacted. There was also talk that the

November Presidential Elections could be delayed, as the Republicans weighed up the risks

and advantages of staging the contest on schedule under President Donald Trump's

leadership.

Cross Jurisdictional Analysis

South Korea10 hosted legislative elections in mid-April, being one of the first

countries to conduct a national vote since COVID-19 started circulating in early 2020 across

the globe. With widespread testing, a high-tech tracing programme and quarantines for those

quickly exposed, South Korea had already been lauded for its successful response to the

epidemic, taking new infections down from more than 900 a day in late February to only 27

on the day of the April vote. At the polling booth, robust precautions continued: electors had

to wear masks and gloves and stand separately from anyone at least 3 ft apart. Temperature

tests were carried out by officials wearing protective clothing, and everyone with a fever was

taken to vote in a different location.

9
Odenthal, Frank. "Elections During The Pandemic | Fairplanet". Fair Planet, 2020,

https://www.fairplanet.org/story/elections-during-the-pandemic/.

10
"NPR Cookie Consent And Choices". Npr.Org, 2020,

https://www.npr.org/2020/04/15/834746384/south-korea-holds-parliamentary-elections-during-pandemic.
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Via hosting elections with protection mechanisms in effect, other countries with less

stringent COVID-19 protections have managed to maintain their incidence of new infections

steady. For eg, officials in North Macedonia11 took ballot boxes to the homes of quarantined

citizens in July so that they could vote peacefully in the first parliamentary elections in the

country after it changed its name from Macedonia in 2019 owing to a historical conflict with

neighbouring Greece. The number of new infections registered daily stayed at or decreased to

between 90 and 160 cases for the month following the referendum.

It is not obvious, except in countries that have seen an uptick in cases following a

referendum, that voting has played a deciding function. During its July 10 referendum,

Singapore introduced protection steps, such as establishing restricted time windows in which

individuals could vote to prevent crowding. Over the subsequent weeks, infections also grew.

But analysts claim the spike was possibly the result of a relaxing of lockout steps earlier in

June.

Very frequently, the validity of elections is calculated by the degree of voter

participation in a particular referendum. Out of the overall number of eligible voters who

have come out to cast their ballots, this is the number of voters. The lower the turnout, the

less valid the efficiency especially if the turnout is less than 50%. Given the physical

distancing conditions and the uncertain faith of electors in securely leaving their homes to go

to polling stations, this has become one of the key issues of elections conducted during the

pandemic. Conventionally, domestic and foreign observer organisations oversee polls to

11
"Electoral Risk Management And The COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case Of Parliamentary Elections

In North Macedonia | International IDEA". Idea.Int, 2020, https://www.idea.int/news-media/news/electoral-risk-

management-and-covid-19-pandemic-case-parliamentary-elections-north.
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ensure that the procedures are legitimate and fulfil the criteria for an election held with

dignity. The circumstance may be different for the COVID-19 votes. Foreign limitations on

transport also prohibited the operation of full-scale election monitoring missions. The

requirement for physical distance for domestic observers is an unavoidable inhibitor of

closely observing the procedures of polling and counting. Despite their desire to remain

segregated, the risk of transmitting the disease through the polling phase inevitably prevents

the ability for COVID-19 patients to cast their ballots. Indeed, safe yet disadvantaged voters

are often at considerable risk, such as those aged 65 and over, as well as those on the lower

rungs of the social ladder.

Masks needed: Numerous nations have required voters to wear masks, since it has

been proven that wearing masks greatly decreases the risk of infection.

Tracking temperatures: Almost thirty million citizens in South Korea, 66 percent of

registered voters, the largest voter turnout in the world since 1992, cast ballots in April. Until

voting, everyone had their temperatures tested and were issued hand sanitizer. In different

places, people with a fever were permitted to vote.

Social distance: Countries including Mongolia and Serbia12 have requested electors to

keep at least a metre away from each other.

Sanitizing polling sites: Regular disinfection of surfaces that are regularly touched

and other sanitary steps are usual. The polling stations in Poland13 were permitted to air out

12
News, ABC. "Serbia To Hold General Election Despite Pandemic". ABC News, 2020,

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/serbia-hold-general-election-pandemic-70495567.
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every hour for ten minutes. Election employees routinely washed off surfaces and labels used

to fill out ballots in the Dominican Republic.

Eliminating sharing materials: electors were urged to hold their own pens by French14

authorities. In Suriname, instead of making citizens dip into mutual ink jars, poll workers

used cotton swabs to coat voters' fingers with ink.

Staggering hours of voting: Reducing the amount of individuals who vote at the same

time helps minimise the likelihood of transmission of coronavirus. On election day, certain

nations expanded the number of polling stations, recommended early voting, and prolonged

voting hours. Singapore15 offered two-hour periods for electors through which they were

eligible to cast their ballots at polling stations.

Providing in-person voting alternatives: Several nations, such as Australia16, have

allowed individuals to vote via postal, which has typically proven to be effective and may be

shielded from tampering. However because of protection flaws, analysts do not advocate

converting to online voting schemes easily.

13
Meakem et al. "Poland Is Showing The World How To Run A Pandemic Election". Foreign Policy,

2020, https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/05/04/poland-is-showing-the-world-how-to-run-a-pandemic-election/.

14
Knutson, Jacob. "France Holds Local Elections Despite Coronavirus Pandemic". Axios, 2020,

https://www.axios.com/france-elections-coronavirus-d6947bea-92af-4b0e-973f-42320eb87b3a.html.

15
"Singapore Calls For Elections Despite Pandemic". Nytimes.Com, 2020,

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/23/world/asia/singapore-elections-coronavirus.html.

16
Diplomat, The. "Elections In A Pandemic: Lessons From Asia". Thediplomat.Com, 2020,

https://thediplomat.com/2020/08/elections-in-a-pandemic-lessons-from-asia/.
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Creating special treatments for patients with COVID-19: In Croatia and France, on

behalf of coronavirus patients and others in isolation, proxy delegates were permitted to

speak. Elsewhere the residences of patients were visited by election workers and health

practitioners. The elderly and other high-risk people in Singapore have been urged to vote

early in the afternoon.

Suggestive inferences for countries like India

These precautions are costly. Elections in April in South Korea cost an extra $16

million. Other countries have planned billions of additional money for pandemic-related

initiatives, such as Indonesia and Ukraine.

Such amounts might be difficult to afford for poorer countries like India. It suggested that

countries postpone the elections till a duration that it doesn’t affect the structure of

democracy. Such an extended term, must be overlooked by non political departments like the

Election Commission and the Supreme court.

In a scenario where elections are conducted, they must be spread out in a phased manner with

special provisions for senior citizens who are excessively prone to the virus. India can’t adopt

in-ballot system like the US because we are not advanced enough to manage the population

of India and it will lead to electoral scams which will jeopardise the entire structure of

democracy.

Social distancing and sanitation must be conducted of the electoral places and objects

involved. People should be checked for their temperatures and to save the structure of

democracy, provisions must be made to be people infected by the virus to cote while

quarantining in their homes.

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